Eric's Beijing Diary

Last night, I attended a special Bai banquet at Marley's cafe. I sat next to an actuary from Switzerland. We were talking about retirement pensions. (Do I really look that old?) I told him that in America there tends to be a division between the Democrats and Republicans. The Republicans tend to view Social Security as an investment fund, while the Democrats tend to view it as a tax.

The makeup of the guests at this banquet underscored the importance of English as a lingua franca. There were no Americans there (except me). But there were several Europeans. They are all part of the EU, so, in a sense, they are part of the same country. But the Italians don't speak German, the Germans don't speak Italian, the French don't speak either, although their language is perhaps closer to Italian. But they all speak English. Interesting that English, the language of Great Britain, which has been reticent about membership in the EU, is the lingua franca of the EU. It is perhaps more noticeable in a community like Dali, where so many Europeans congregate, but I see it everywhere. If you want to be able to communicate internationally, you really do need to speak English.

China is catching on to this truth. The city of Beijing is pushing the teaching of English down to the elementary grades, so young people who are educated in Beijing will be familiar with English during the years when there is still the possibility of developing native language acquisition. Not that all of them will, but a generation from now, the effects of such a policy will be dramatic.

Labels: Summer 2004