中英双语新闻 融合不仅仅意味着语言的学习

The last country I visited where I couldn’t speak the language was Poland. Yes, most people spoke 1 in English and communication was hardly a struggle but it still made 

me realise how dependent I was on others to translate occasionally, and the way this limited my enjoyment 2 of another society. Knowing a language isn’t simply about 

communicating words, it’s about entering another world, a world which remains 3 partially 4 closed if you can’t express yourself.

In this sense the government’s proposed 20 million pound language fund to help help end what the prime-minister called the "passive tolerance 5" of separate 

communities, is welcome. While many of the big statistics focus on Muslim women, money will be spent on all women who are in the greatest danger of isolation 6, whether 

it’s voluntary or imposed. English language therefore is a means to building the Prime-minister’s goal of an `integrated, cohesive 7 one nation country.’

But knowing English doesn’t necessarily lead to integration 8 and certainly can’t guarantee one of the ultimate aims of this investment, which is curbing 9 the tide of 

extremism and radicalisation within certain sections of the Muslim community. After all most young people who have been drawn 10 to violent jihadism speak fluent English. 

In such societies, parents are the repositories of tradition and culture, but if they’re struggling to communicate with their children, it’s not necessarily because 

of their inability to speak English.

Language skills may help some women gain access to education, become empowered and mobile, all necessary for a more just and equal society. But if integration is to 

mean anything, it must harbour a sense of emotional belonging and shared citizenship 11 despite cultural differences. Culture is more than holding onto food, dress and 

ritual. Cultural awareness 12 and feelings of belonging demand a mindset, an ability to have vision for your life wherever you live, to be aware of your heritage but not 

be held back by traditions that encourage only imaginary rather than real bonds. This has to come from the individual and the state for all its good intentions, and 

its vast reach, is limited in what it can do to foster this.

Many people may share a neighbourhood but they share little in terms of thoughts or activities. Often there’s no resentment 13, no hostility 14 but only apathy 15 to how other 

people live and male female relations. The Qur’anic verse ‘Men are the protectors and maintainers of women’ has been subject to decades of interpretation 16 but also 

decades of abuse, in which communities have denied women their rights. I think all women should have freedoms and opportunities. But the truth is that there are many 

women who don’t wish to enter another world because the world they’re in is enough for them. And it seems to me that no amount of English language lessons will be 

able to change that.

波兰是我上一个访问时不会讲当地语言的国家，是的，大多数人都讲英语的话，沟通对我来说根本不是问题，但偶尔也会让我意识到自己多么依赖于他人的翻译，这样也限制了我享受另一个国家的乐趣。通晓一门语言并不是简单的沟通字句，而是要进入另一个世界，在这个世界里，如果你无法表达自己，那么它对你来说仍是半封闭的。

从这个意义上讲，政府提出提供2000万英镑语言基金的提议是值得欢迎的，该项目意在帮助结束首相所谓的对隔离社区的“被动容忍”。尽管很多统计资料都集中关注于穆斯林妇女，这些资金事实上将用于每一个面临最大的隔离风险的妇女，无论她们是主动还是被动的。因此英语这种语言是用来实现首相“融合、团结之国家”目标的工具。

但通晓英语并不一定能促进融合，当然也不能确保这一投资终极目标的实现，也就是在穆斯林社区一些群体内遏制极端主义和激进主义的潮流。毕竟大多数被暴力圣战主义吸引的年轻人能讲流利的英语。在这样的社会里，父母满脑子都是传统和文化，但如果他们为了和孩子们沟通而费尽力气，那么未必是因为他们不会讲英语。

语言技能可能会帮助一些女性获得教育机会，被赋予权利和流动性，所有这些都是一个更公正、公平的社会所必须的。但如果融合有什么意味的话，那么不管有怎样的文化差异，它必须包含一种情感归属和共同的公民身份。文化不仅仅意味着食物、服饰和仪式，文化意识和归属感需要一种心态，一种不管身在何处，能为自己的生活进行畅想的能力，能够意识到自己的传统同时又不被传统绊住手脚，而这些传统只能鼓励想象中的束缚而不是真实的束缚，为了很好地利用其功能，这种心态和能力必须来自个人和国家，而这种心态和能力的广度，要取决于它能培育这种意识的能力。

很多人可能共享一个社区，但他们在思想或活动方面共享的很少，通常并不存在愤恨和敌意，但只是对他人生活和男女关系漠不关心。《古兰经》有云：“男人是妇女的保护者和维护者”，这句话经过了几十年的解释，但也一直被滥用，一些社区拒绝给妇女以权利。我想所有的妇女都应该有自由和机会，但事实上，很多妇女不愿意进入另一个世界，因为她们所身处的世界对她们来说已经足够，在我看来，无论多少的英语语言也改变不了她们的现状。