學(xué)習(xí)法語(yǔ)還有用嗎

What is the point of learning French? In anotoriously monoglot nation such as ours, theanswer is usually something along the lines of the oldjustification for forcing cod-liver oil down children’sthroats: it is good for you.

學(xué)法語(yǔ)的意義何在?在像英國(guó)這樣眾所周知的單語(yǔ)國(guó)家，答案通常是類似強(qiáng)迫孩子把魚肝油吞下去的古老理由：這對(duì)你有好處。

It is time to realise that in many parts of the world,being expected to learn French is positively bad foryou. If you were to emerge from school unable to add up, you would, rightly, be furious. Yet itis possible to finish schooling all over the world fluent in French but ignorant of the skillabsolutely necessary get by in the global economy: English.

是時(shí)候意識(shí)到這一點(diǎn)了：在世界很多地方，被期望學(xué)法語(yǔ)對(duì)你確實(shí)有壞處。如果你從學(xué)校畢業(yè)卻不會(huì)做加法，你理所應(yīng)當(dāng)?shù)貢?huì)感到憤怒。然而，在世界各地都可能發(fā)生以下這種情況：你在完成學(xué)業(yè)后能說(shuō)一口流利的法語(yǔ)，卻不會(huì)說(shuō)一門在全球化經(jīng)濟(jì)中生存絕對(duì)必須掌握的語(yǔ)言——英語(yǔ)。

There is one big culprit for this absurd state of affairs. The bloc known as “La Francophonie”passes itself off as a pale imitation of the Commonwealth, if you can imagine anything quite soetiolated. Actually, the comparison is unfair to the Commonwealth , which is a well-meaning,low-key organisation doing good by stealth. La Francophonie has a more strident tone,promoting “active solidarity” (whatever that is) between member states, based on “the Frenchlanguage and its humanist values”.

這種荒謬的事態(tài)有一大罪魁禍?zhǔn)住Ｃ麨?ldquo;法語(yǔ)國(guó)家組織”(La Francophonie)的聯(lián)盟假裝自己是一個(gè)類似英聯(lián)邦(Commonwealth)一樣的組織——如果你能設(shè)想如此蒼白無(wú)力的模仿的話。實(shí)際上，這種比較對(duì)英聯(lián)邦而言是不公平的。英聯(lián)邦是一個(gè)悄悄做好事的善意、低調(diào)的組織。法語(yǔ)國(guó)家組織的風(fēng)格更為激烈，旨在促進(jìn)成員國(guó)之間基于“法語(yǔ)語(yǔ)言及其人文主義價(jià)值觀”的“積極團(tuán)結(jié)”(誰(shuí)知道這個(gè)詞是什么意思)。

There is nothing inherently evil in promoting the teaching of French and its “humanist values”.And there is nothing wrong with encouraging the cultivation of dahlias. But we might lookaskance at an organisation which proclaimed that growing dahlias was the way to thrive in the21st century.

促進(jìn)法語(yǔ)教學(xué)及其“人文主義價(jià)值觀”教育在本質(zhì)上并沒(méi)有什么不好。鼓勵(lì)栽培大麗花也沒(méi)有什么錯(cuò)。但如果一個(gè)組織宣稱種植大麗花是在21世紀(jì)取得成功的方法，我們或許會(huì)用懷疑的眼光打量它。

In many of the countries where French is most actively taught — one thinks immediately ofnorth Africa — the indigenous tongue is very different. So learning a foreign language whichuses a different alphabet is no mean feat. The problem is not that French is impossible tolearn: you can hear it spoken perfectly in Tunisia, Algeria or Morocco. No, the real problem withFrench is that it is a useless language.

在法國(guó)教學(xué)最積極的國(guó)家(人們馬上會(huì)想起北非)中，很多國(guó)家的母語(yǔ)與法語(yǔ)截然不同。因此學(xué)習(xí)一門使用不同字母的外國(guó)語(yǔ)言是一種了不起的成就。問(wèn)題不在于法語(yǔ)不可能學(xué)會(huì)：在突尼斯、阿爾及利亞或者摩洛哥，你都能聽到人們說(shuō)一口流利的法語(yǔ)。不，法語(yǔ)真正的問(wèn)題是它是一門無(wú)用的語(yǔ)言。

Let us block our ears to the middle-class English and their forelock-tugging deference toFrance’s highly subsidised rural living, high-speed trains and “marvellous food”. Homage toEscoffier is no principle for modern life.

讓我們堵住耳朵，不去理會(huì)英國(guó)中產(chǎn)階級(jí)以及他們對(duì)法國(guó)的高補(bǔ)貼鄉(xiāng)村生活、高速列車和“絕世美食”的敬意。對(duì)頂級(jí)大廚奧古斯特•埃斯科菲耶(Auguste Escoffier)的崇敬并不是能夠指導(dǎo)現(xiàn)代生活的原則。

No one is going to deny that, historically, France has enhanced civilisation. European culturewould be a thin thing without Montaigne, Descartes, Debussy and Cézanne, to say nothing ofthe dictator’s dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte. The problem is that it is all long past and the newworld is anglophone. In the centuries-long struggle between English and French there is onevictor, and to pretend otherwise is like suggesting that Johnny Hallyday is the future of pop.

沒(méi)人打算否認(rèn)法國(guó)在歷史上促進(jìn)了文明的發(fā)展。如果沒(méi)有蒙田(Montaigne)、笛卡爾(Descartes)、德彪西(Debussy)和塞尚(Cézanne)，更不必說(shuō)第一個(gè)現(xiàn)代獨(dú)裁者拿破侖•波拿巴(Napoleon Bonaparte)，歐洲文化將單薄得多。問(wèn)題在于，這些早已成為過(guò)去，英語(yǔ)是新世界的通用語(yǔ)。英語(yǔ)和法語(yǔ)長(zhǎng)達(dá)數(shù)世紀(jì)的斗爭(zhēng)決出了一個(gè)勝者，假裝結(jié)果不是這樣就像是說(shuō)約翰尼•阿利代(Johnny Hallyday)是流行音樂(lè)的未來(lái)一樣。

There is really no reason for the British to gloat about this victory, for it is much more to dowith the legacy of an empire built generations ago, and with the dominance of the US in themodern world. But the outcome of the struggle is clear: English is the language of science,technology, travel, entertainment and sport. To be a citizen of the world it is the one languagethat you must have.

對(duì)于這場(chǎng)勝利，英國(guó)人真的沒(méi)有什么理由沾沾自喜，因?yàn)闆Q定這場(chǎng)勝利的，主要是一個(gè)在數(shù)代人以前建立的帝國(guó)的遺產(chǎn)以及美國(guó)在現(xiàn)代世界的主導(dǎo)地位。但這場(chǎng)斗爭(zhēng)的結(jié)果很明確：英語(yǔ)是科學(xué)、技術(shù)、旅行、娛樂(lè)和運(yùn)動(dòng)的語(yǔ)言。要當(dāng)一個(gè)世界公民，英語(yǔ)就是你必須掌握的那一門語(yǔ)言。

How the French government chooses to spend its money is its affair. For most of us, the onlyimportant question is whether promoting French language and values does any good. When theone-time German South West Africa attained independence as Namibia, it sensibly adoptedEnglish as its official language, for the very good reason that it would give its citizens a future.

法國(guó)政府選擇如何花錢是它自己的事。對(duì)我們大多數(shù)人來(lái)說(shuō)，唯一重要的問(wèn)題是推廣法語(yǔ)及其價(jià)值觀能否帶來(lái)任何好處。當(dāng)曾經(jīng)的德屬西南非州(German South West Africa)以納米比亞的身份獲得獨(dú)立后，該國(guó)理智地采用英語(yǔ)作為官方語(yǔ)言，因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)充分的理由：英語(yǔ)會(huì)給該國(guó)公民一個(gè)未來(lái)。

The truth is that while other imperial powers were running down their flags around the world,France never really decolonised. Promotion of the French language and its supposed values isjust another form of imperialism.

真相是，當(dāng)其他帝國(guó)主義國(guó)家在全世界各地降下自己的旗幟時(shí)，法國(guó)從未真正地去殖民化。推行法語(yǔ)及其所謂的價(jià)值觀只不過(guò)是帝國(guó)主義的另一種形式。

There is absolutely nothing wrong with studying any language as a hobby or mentaldiscipline. But let us not pretend that understanding Sanskrit has great practical value.

作為一種愛好或者頭腦訓(xùn)練方式學(xué)習(xí)任何語(yǔ)言當(dāng)然沒(méi)有任何過(guò)錯(cuò)。但讓我們不要再假裝懂得梵文有很大的實(shí)用價(jià)值。

If you are a native English speaker, by all means learn Chinese or Arabic or Spanish. If youmust, study French, because it is a beautiful language. But let us have no truck withsuggestions that it is much worth learning as a medium of communication.

如果你的母語(yǔ)是英語(yǔ)，請(qǐng)務(wù)必學(xué)習(xí)中文、阿拉伯語(yǔ)或者西班牙語(yǔ)。如果你非要學(xué)法語(yǔ)，那就學(xué)吧，因?yàn)樗且婚T美麗的語(yǔ)言。但請(qǐng)拒絕接受法語(yǔ)作為溝通媒介非常值得學(xué)習(xí)的說(shuō)法。