XN000022-1986-12-19 — Page 4

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1986

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LANGUAGE RESOURCES MUST BE EXPLOITED

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THE ACTING GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID AKERS-JONES, SAID THIS (FRIDAY) MORNING THAT HONG KONG MUST EXPLOITED ITS RESOURCES INVOLVING BILINGUALISM AND THE USE OF ENGLISH IF IT IS TO MAINTAIN ITS POSITION INTERNATIONALLY,

SPEAKING TO REPORTERS AFTER OPENING A CONFERENCE ON LANGUAGE POLICY AND LANGUAGE PLANNING, SIR DAVID SAIDI

+THIS IS A CHINESE CITY BUT IT'S ALSO AN INTERNATIONAL CITY. AND IF WE ARE TO KEEP OUR POSITION IN THIS INTERNATIONAL WORLD, AND 1 SINCERELY HOPE WE WILL, BECAUSE WE LIVE HERE, BECAUSE WE ARE FIVE MILLION PEOPLE, WE HAVE NO OTHER RESOURCES BUT THOSE PEOPLE, AND WE MUST EXPLOIT THOSE RESOURCES TO THE FULL. AND I BELIEVE EXPLOITATION OF THE RESOURCES INVOLVES BILINGUALISM AND THE USE OF ENGLISH.+

HE ALSO POINTED OUT THAT A DIFFICULT PROBLEM EXISTED IN HONG KONG WHERE THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE WAS DIVERGING MORE AND MORE AND WHERE THE WRITTEN STANDARD CHINESE WAS DIFFERENT AGAIN FROM PUTONGHUA AND THE LANGUAGE OF CHINA.

+SO WE HAVE REALLY GOT A VERY INTERESTING PROBLEM AND IT IS ONE WHICH CONFERENCES LIKE THIS WILL CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS A SOLUTION,+ HE ADDED.

ASKED TO COMMENT ON A SPEECH BY DR WANG GUNGWU WHO ALSO ADDRESSED THE CONFERENCE, ABOUT LANGUAGE POLICY IN HONG KONG, SIR DAVID SAID:

+1 WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN WHAT DR WANG HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE EFFECT THAT THE CHANGE IN USE OF LANGUAGE IN OUR SECONDARY SCHOOLS, THAT IS THE GREATER USE OF CHINESE IN SECONDARY AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS, AND ITS KNOCK-ON EFFECT TO THE UNIVERSITY, AND 1 THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT HE HAS SAID VERY, VERY CAREFULLY, THIS DISJUNCTIVE EFFECT OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEMS.+

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