英语听力—环球英语 1253 Recovering Languages

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Robin² Basselin.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I'm Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Today's Spotlight is on "recovering languages".

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　In a previous program, we talked about the problem of disappearing languages. There are more than six thousand languages spoken in the world today. But an estimated⁴ two to three thousand of them may disappear in the next ten or twenty years.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Languages disappear for many reasons. Sometimes a culture disappears, and the language disappears with it. Sometimes a government uses the law to stop people from speaking a language. And sometimes, another language overpowers a local language by offering a way to communicate with the wider world. This is not always a bad thing. It is good for people to be able to communicate with each other, across cultures. After all, this is one of Spotlight's aims!

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　But when a language is lost, a community loses an important part of culture. This is why some communities are working to protect and even bring back their language.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　This was the case with the Māori language of native New Zealanders. Māori people arrived in New Zealand around seven hundred years ago. They were the first people to settle there. The people originally came from the Polynesian islands, and the Māori language is similar to other Polynesian languages.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　English settlers arrived in New Zealand over one hundred and fifty years ago. They made agreements with Māori chiefs. These agreements made New Zealand a British colony⁵. For many years the British government controlled the country. However, today, New Zealand is no longer British.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　All through the nineteenth century, more and more Europeans arrived. The Māori people became a minority in their own country. In time, their language began to decline⁶ - fewer people used it. There were many reasons for this. People needed to speak English to take part in business and government - so Māori people learned⁷ and used English. But the government also banned the use of the Māori language in schools. Their reasons may have been well-meaning. They saw this as helping⁸ Māoris to progress. In other countries and at other times governments have banned local languages as a way of controlling people. In any case, the result is the same. When the government bans a language, that language often begins to disappear. If children do not use a language, it cannot survive. By the nineteen eighties, only twenty percent of the Māori people spoke³ the Māori language. Māori leaders were concerned that the language would disappear completely.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　So the Māori leaders took action. The government of New Zealand had already stopped the ban on speaking Māori in school. So the Māori leaders decided⁹ to start there. They began programs to teach young children in Māori. Now, there are schools that only use Māori. Many children learn the language, and traditional Māori customs. When children learn a language, the language survives with them.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Today, along with English, Māori is an official language of New Zealand. There are official policies to protect the language. Someone is present to translate in government meetings. And there is a television station that broadcasts in Māori. The number of Māori speakers is no longer reducing. In fact, it has now increased to 23 percent.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　There are many organizations working to save languages. Some organizations work with just one ethnic¹⁰ group such as the Māori. Others, like UNESCO, work on a global level with governments. One interesting organization working in this area is SIL.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　SIL believes that language and culture are part of God's creation¹¹. SIL is a Christian¹² group. But it does not just work with other Christians¹³. SIL workers believe that by helping people to protect their own language and culture, they are protecting God's wonderful creation.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　SIL supports the work of native groups in saving¹⁴ their own languages. For example, it trains and encourages local leaders and researchers. It helps them to develop education plans for children and adults, including teaching¹⁵ people to read and write in their own languages.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　This is what is happening in the country of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has more than eight hundred languages. According to SIL, it has more languages than any other country in the world. SIL has been involved in protecting several of these languages. Many of their researchers have studied language groups in Papua New Guinea. They have also worked with local people to develop education plans.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　One example is the Abau language. In Abau, SIL's work is centred on mother-tongue literacy¹⁶. This means that people are learning¹⁷ to read and write in Abau because it is their first language. This process starts with young children in the first three years of school.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　But these programs are not just for children. The Abau Training Center opened in 1994. It trains people with job skills - like using a computer, or taking care of the money at a business. All of these classes also teach reading and writing in the Abau language.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　SIL started these projects with the support of the Abau community. Through the Abau Training Center, SIL has trained more than one hundred teachers, working in more than twenty-five schools. SIL's work is important. But the support of the Abau community makes this work possible. This is the way that the language will survive.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Another part of SIL's work is creating a complete list of all of the world's languages. This list is called "Ethnologue". SIL publishes the list as a large book, but you can also find it on the Internet. Ethnologue includes details like how many people speak a language, and in what countries they live. SIL researchers supply the information for the Ethnologue.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　The Ethnologue supplies valuable information about languages. But it also helps people to see the amazing number of different languages in the world. And hopefully, that will help all of us look for ways to support these languages. Ethnologue editor Paul Lewis talked about his work with the BBC. He said,

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　"You have the smallest, weakest, least resourced communities trying to deal with the problem. And the larger communities do not know about it. We would spend a lot of money to save an old building. This is because it is part of our history. These languages and cultures are equally part of our history. They also deserve¹⁸ saving."

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writer of today's programme was Christy VanArragon. The producer was Joshua Leo. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. This program is called 'Recovering Languages'.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　If you have any questions or comments for Spotlight, you can email us at [email protected]. Or you can leave a comment on our website: http://www.radio.english.net Thank. you for joining us today. Until next time, goodbye.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

5 colony   

n.殖民地；(同类人的)聚居地

参考例句：

• There lived a colony of bees on the tree.树上生活着一群蜜蜂。
• They live in an artists'colony.他们住在艺术家聚居区。

6 decline   

n.衰微，跌落，下降；vt.使降低，婉谢；vi.下降，衰落，偏斜

参考例句：

• I must decline to show favour to any of the candidates.我必须拒绝偏袒任何一位候选人。
• The birthrate is on the decline.出生率在下降。

7 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

14 saving   

n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款

参考例句：

• Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
• Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。

15 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

16 literacy   

n.识字，有文化，读写能力

参考例句：

• I can't believe that he failed the literacy test.我无法相信他识字测试不及格。
• The literacy rate there is the highest in Central America.那里的识字率居中美洲之首。

17 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

18 deserve   

vt.应受，值得；vi. 应受报答，值得受赏

参考例句：

• You really deserve a good beating,you naughty boy.你这个调皮孩子真该打。
• I do not deserve all the praises bestowed upon me.我不配得到这些赞扬。