In this context, a pact with Australia and New Zealand to use Korean and English as common official languages should be proposed as the best way to lay a solid foundation for concrete measures to achieve greater friendship and cooperation.
A language FTA would mean Korean, though geographically surrounded by the two mega-languages Chinese and Japanese, would overtake them in terms of practical use in Oceania. Korean would be taught at schools at all levels by Korean teachers with high proficiency in English. Korean would be used along with English in all public documents and road signs. Korean residents there will be the initial beneficiaries of such an accord.
Conversely, more Australian and New Zealand teachers with high proficiency in Korean will teach English in Korea. They will occupy a greater share of the huge English education market here.
If he's being facetious and satirizing the idea held by some to make English an official language of Korea, then his piece was very effective. If he's being serious . . . well, not so much. Your thoughts?
8 comments:
Korea seems like a country where message board trolls have come to life and taken top positions in the government.
Sometimes I wonder if they even know the meaning of "overstepping your bounds".
There are some useful ideas in the piece centred around what Kim calls a Language FTA, trading respective language teachers, easier access to proficiency tests (bothe English and Korean)etc, but to suggest that Korean might become an official language of either Australia or New Zealand is to have very little understanding of the two country's populations who, though known as laid back and pretty easy going, would sooner let England win a rugby match than have Korean as an official language.
Brian wrote:
If he's being facetious and satirizing the idea held by some to make English an official language of Korea, then his piece was very effective. If he's being serious . . . well, not so much. Your thoughts?
It does sound like a bit of parody, though in a country of fifty million and a bureaucracy of hundreds of thousands, I'm sure you could find at least one person who believes in even the most ridiculous of fantasies.
Kelsey wrote:
Sometimes I wonder if they even know the meaning of "overstepping your bounds".
Who they? How many people do you think wrote that editorial? Or did you mean the entire country based on one guy?
Any and all of the following languages should be considered before Korean as an official language of Australia: Greek, Italian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Arabic, Spanish, Tagalog, Macedonian, Hindi, Croatian and Aboriginal languages.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Australia#Languages
Despite being a key trade partner with Australia, Korea figures (sometimes unfairly) low in Australian consciousness and will never be considered as an official language unless there is a sudden influx of 5 million Koreans within the next 20 years. Unlikely.
Mandarin (and/or Cantonese) is a much more realistic option as an official language given China's ever-increasing influence and trade with Australia and current demographic trends.
He'd have better luck advocating Korean (or Cantonese.) as an official language in Hong^H^H^H^HVancouver.
My grade 6 kids were gobsmacked when I told them that we didn't learn Korean in school in New Zealand. I know, that's a very small sample group but perhaps it's somewhat indicative of the mindset in general.
I think this article has all the makings of a great Tui "Yeah, right" ad though.
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