VOA标准英语2010年-Indonesian Tribe Learns to Write with

South Korean exports are world-renowned among those who shop for mobile phones or flat-screen TVs.  But the country is offering a different export to a small Indonesian community - its writing system.

Members of an Indonesian ethnic¹ group called the Cia Cia took a walk around downtown Seoul recently, some of them getting their first taste of freezing winter weather.

Their arrival was greeted by a media frenzy² and an appearance by Seoul's mayor.

 Such treatment is usually reserved for pop stars, or Olympic athletes.  These Cia Cia children are neither, but they do have a special skill.

The children know how to read hangul - the Korean alphabet system.

The Cia Cia never had a writing system of their own for records or literature, until last year, when South Korean scholars persuaded them to make hangul their own.

South Korea dispatched teachers to Bau-Bau, where the Cia Cia live on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Seoul National University Professor Lee Ho-young led the effort to promote hangul to the Cia Cia. He says he wants to preserve linguistic³ diversity.  "We want to protect rapidly disappearing languages in the world. Indigenous⁴ languages are weakening under the influence of powerful central governments, and because they have no alphabet," he said.

Hangul is a simple and logical phonetic⁵ system.  Unlike the Roman alphabet, each letter conforms to one basic sound, so South Korean scholars say it is a practical option for the Cia Cia, even though Indonesia's main official language, Bahasa Indonesia, uses the Roman script. 

In addition to its alphabet, South Korea is offering infrastructure⁶ assistance by building schools and libraries for the Cia Cia.

Lessons in Korean will also be offered, as these Indonesians get more comfortable with hangul.

1 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。

2 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

3 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

5 phonetic   

adj.语言的，语言上的，表示语音的

参考例句：

• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
• English phonetic teaching is an important teaching step in elementary stages.语音教学是英语基础阶段重要的教学环节。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。