Yesterday, I happened to listen to NBC Karai Dabai Talk Back programme and one of the topics discussed was about introducing the Pidgin as the language to educate students in schools, colleges and universities.
The elderly man who promotes this idea, and has brought this up from time to time with Radio host Mathilda Gaveva, was a certain David from Wewak, East Sepik.
I decided to give a call and make a statement.
I said Pidgin, as a language, is not our language as some people like to think.
It is a Creole; it is made up of a mixture of words borrowed from different languages.
It is also a trading language, promoted more by the Chinese traders in the Asia and Pacific region. Our Pidgin - which is generally understood by Solomon Islanders and Vanuatuans - is a mixture of English, German and local language words.
When we think globally, we will note that English is the best language to learn, not Pidgin.
We, PNG, have the natural resources, western countries want to make deals with us regarding the resources. The best language to use is a language they will understand - and it is English.
We must not be lazy and entertain our children coming home complaining that English is hard. We must urge them to work hard.
All the best things in life are not gained by simple means.
We must also remember that our parents and grandparents went to school in the 1960s and learnt everything in English. For most there was no preparatory school.
But today some of them speak better English than many of us who have more books, more radio stations, see a lot TV and see more movies.
I also mentioned that many people today do not speak correct Pidgin.
How many university students today speak as well as write correct Pidgin? What about the students in primary school?
So, it is not easy to just adopt Pidgin as a language to educate students.
Then, there is also the task or rewriting all the textbooks and readers.
How will you translate all the technical terms in English and words that you do not have substitutes for in Pidgin?
We must think globally.
If we were to trade with a country like France, it would be to our advantage to have a knowledge of French.
About a third of the French population can speak English but all their books, textbooks, signs, etc are written in French.
In the same way as we must push ourselves to learn French to deal with the French, we must urge our children to learn English.
Of course, it is hard, but we must still urge them to learn the language.
A wealth or sea of knowledge is already captured in the form of books, magazines, web-blogs, etc in English - not Pidgin.
Teach the children English to give them legs to go out and capture the knowledge already out there. English enables them to get those information.
I said the Sepik man must know that there are Sepiks that are now working as engineers in Australia or associate professors in western countries - Australia, America and Europe.
There are Papua New Guineans flying planes in the Arab Emirates.
All these professionals learnt English to get there.
We must urge our children to learn English. It is the way to go.
The elderly man who promotes this idea, and has brought this up from time to time with Radio host Mathilda Gaveva, was a certain David from Wewak, East Sepik.
I decided to give a call and make a statement.
I said Pidgin, as a language, is not our language as some people like to think.
It is a Creole; it is made up of a mixture of words borrowed from different languages.
It is also a trading language, promoted more by the Chinese traders in the Asia and Pacific region. Our Pidgin - which is generally understood by Solomon Islanders and Vanuatuans - is a mixture of English, German and local language words.
When we think globally, we will note that English is the best language to learn, not Pidgin.
We, PNG, have the natural resources, western countries want to make deals with us regarding the resources. The best language to use is a language they will understand - and it is English.
We must not be lazy and entertain our children coming home complaining that English is hard. We must urge them to work hard.
All the best things in life are not gained by simple means.
We must also remember that our parents and grandparents went to school in the 1960s and learnt everything in English. For most there was no preparatory school.
But today some of them speak better English than many of us who have more books, more radio stations, see a lot TV and see more movies.
I also mentioned that many people today do not speak correct Pidgin.
How many university students today speak as well as write correct Pidgin? What about the students in primary school?
So, it is not easy to just adopt Pidgin as a language to educate students.
Then, there is also the task or rewriting all the textbooks and readers.
How will you translate all the technical terms in English and words that you do not have substitutes for in Pidgin?
We must think globally.
If we were to trade with a country like France, it would be to our advantage to have a knowledge of French.
About a third of the French population can speak English but all their books, textbooks, signs, etc are written in French.
In the same way as we must push ourselves to learn French to deal with the French, we must urge our children to learn English.
Of course, it is hard, but we must still urge them to learn the language.
A wealth or sea of knowledge is already captured in the form of books, magazines, web-blogs, etc in English - not Pidgin.
Teach the children English to give them legs to go out and capture the knowledge already out there. English enables them to get those information.
I said the Sepik man must know that there are Sepiks that are now working as engineers in Australia or associate professors in western countries - Australia, America and Europe.
There are Papua New Guineans flying planes in the Arab Emirates.
All these professionals learnt English to get there.
We must urge our children to learn English. It is the way to go.
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