提问朝鲜人：中文是最受欢迎的外语 [美国媒体]

Kristo from Estonia asks:

来自爱沙尼亚读者的kristo提问：

In the USSR, behind the Iron Curtain, foreign language studies in universities were prestigious for variety of reasons. How accessible are foreign language studies to students in NK, either academically or self-taught? What languages do they have access to and what are the popular ones?

在前苏联的铁幕政权下，出于各种原因，在大学学习外语是非常受追捧的。无论是专门学习还是自学，朝鲜的学生是怎么接触外语的呢？ 他们能学习什么外语？哪种外语最受欢迎呢？



朝鲜的学生必须学习一门外语。照片:美联社Ng Han Guan)

Studying a foreign language might have been a prestigious thing in the USSR but it is compulsory for everyone in North Korea from elementary school to high school.

学习一门外语也许在苏联时期是受追捧的事，但是在朝鲜，从小学到高中每个人都必须学习外语。

But while everyone gets to – or rather, has to – study a foreign language throughout their school years, it’s students from good family backgrounds (under the Songbun caste system) and from the top of the social hierarchy who are most motivated to learn one in-depth prior to entering university. These students know that they can apply this knowledge after they graduate, so they’re more motivated than other students.

不过，虽然每个人都接受——或者说，不得不——在整个求学生涯学习外语。有着良好家庭背景的学生（以种姓制度论出生的话），和来自社会高层的学生最有动力在进入大学前深入学习一门语言。这些人知道他们毕业后可以应用这门语言，所以他们比其他学生都更积极。

Otherwise, people are less likely to be motivated to learn a foreign language because they cannot use this knowledge in the real world. They don’t attribute any special meaning to becoming fluent in a foreign language and they wouldn’t make extra effort or sacrifice to master one.

否则，人们不太可能有动力学习一门外语，因为他们不能在现实生活中使用。说一口流利的外语没有任何特殊的意义。所以他们不会为掌握一门语言做出额外的努力或牺牲。

Unless they become a diplomat or businessperson who goes to a foreign country on a trip, North Koreans wouldn’t have chances to use foreign languages. As you probably know, most North Koreans don’t have the freedom to travel to a foreign country without permission from the government, so it is understandable that ordinary people are less likely to be passionate about mastering a foreign language.

除非他们成为外交官或者做国际贸易的商人，否则朝鲜人没有机会使用外语。正如你可能知道的那样，没有政府的许可证，朝鲜人不能自由的去国外旅行，所以这就可以理解为什么普通民众很少有人热衷于学习外语了。

North Korean schooling consists of 11 years in total: five years of elementary school and six years of high school. Up until 2011, it was only compulsory for high school students to study foreign languages. But since Kim Jong-un came to power, students have been required to learn foreign languages from elementary school.

朝鲜学制一共有11年：5年小学，6年中学。直到2011年，只有中学才强制学习外语。但是自从金正恩掌权，学生被要求从小学开始学习外语。

So, what is the most popular language? These days the one that is growing in popularity is Chinese. Up until the late 1990s, Chinese was not at all popular. But since the early 2000s, as the Chinese economy has grown dramatically and its influence over North Korea has grown and grown, learning Chinese has become even more popular than English.

那么，最受欢迎的外语是什么呢？这些日子越来越深入人心的是中文。直到90年代末，中文一点也不流行。但是自从2000年初开始，随着中国经济的腾飞和对朝鲜的影响力不断加强，中文甚至比英语更受欢迎，

What foreign languages do we have access to? Most schools and universities in North Korea teach English and Russian. Until the late 1980s Russian was definitely one of the most popular languages, but following the collapse of the USSR trade between North Korea and Russia was greatly reduced so Russian became a not-so-popular language. Still to this day, most schools in North Korea provide English and Russian classes and students learn English and Russian if they want to.

我们能学习到什么语言呢？大多数学校和大学教授英语和俄语。直到80年代末，俄语毫无疑问是最受追捧的语言，但是随着苏联解体，俄罗斯和朝鲜的贸易大幅减少，俄语成了不怎么受欢迎的语言。直到今天，大部分学校还是提供英语和俄语课程，如果学生愿意的话就可以学习这两门语言。

There is a widely accepted view among North Koreans that English is an international language everyone must know and be able to speak. The reason Chinese ranks alongside English as the most popular language in North Korea is because Sino-North Korean relations have become strengthened and deepened over the years, as there are more economic and cultural exchange between the two countries.

英语是一门每个人都必须了解和学习的国际语言，这是被广泛接受的观点。中文能够与英语并驾齐驱成为朝鲜最受欢迎的两门语言，是因为中朝关系在这些年的不断强化和深入，而且两国有着更多的经济文化交流。

I studied Chinese myself before I left North Korea. I expect to see an increased demand for and popularity of the Chinese language in North Korea – and in other countries around the world.

在离开朝鲜前，我自学汉语。我希望能看到朝鲜人对汉语的学习需求增加，汉语在朝鲜能越来越普及——在世界的其他国家也是如此。





julio morales garciglia 
5 Feb 2015 21:56
Poor koreans, the state obligues them to learn a foreign language even if it is almost imposible to cash on it, damn socialists

可怜的朝鲜人，政府要求他们学习一门几乎不可能用得上的语言，该死的，社会主义

premeditated2014 
6 Feb 2015 0:54
These days the one that is growing in popularity is Chinese.
The last time the Chinese looked, their language was called Mandarin,not Chinese. Just saying...it being the Guardian and all.

最后一次说中文了，他们的语言叫普通话，不是中文。我想说。。。这的确是《卫报》。
（基本上没有几个外国网友评论）