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Finnegan: The Language of TimTim
Recently I have read some where that Xanana Gusmao said that after
indepemdence, TimTim will probably use Portuguese as its national
language. My advice to Xanana is "don't" and think again carefully why
you would use Portuguese as the national language and what are the
benefits.
Let's look at he options:
First, Indonesian. I don't think this is a real option. If it is the
case, then why bother getting the Independence. No particular
political, economic, social and cultural reasons for using Indonesian.
One reason going for it may be in the last 23 years, two generations
have been educated in Indonesian. The other one is you spaek the same
language as your big next door neighbour.
Second, Portuguese. There may be many reasons for it, as Xanana had. No
doubt many centuries of Portuguese ruled meant that there are many
legal, political, cultural, and social reasons for using Portuguese. I
am sure the oncoming elites are well versed in Portuguese. But economic
reasons? None. In fact it would be a backward step. Portuguese is not
exactly an international language. How many do you know speak
Portuguese?
Third, English. I would recommend this option for TimTim. It needs all
the breaks it can get in order to survive. I see many advantages for
TimTim to use Emglish as its national language. These are:
* I don't need to say that English is already the world language
* It would be a huge economic and business benefits being an English
speaking nation
* It would provide a much better foundation for the future political
and educational system, especially the education system
* Cultural? well, the English speaking culture (American, Anglo,
Canadian, Australian) already rule the world anyway, so why worry
* Another big neighbour is also next door, Australia. As every
knows, Australia is English speaking. New Zealand and Papua/New
Guinea are also English speaking. In fact, many of the South
pacific nations are english speaking. These are the nations that
would provide the most help to TimTim in the near future.
* How many do you know speak English?
So Xanana, think again. Think for the future of TimTim. Really, there
is only one choice.
Regards - Chai Finnegan
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Didistribusikan tgl. 15 Mar 1999 jam 05:18:16 GMT+1
oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://www.Indo-News.com/
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