加拿大掀起“中文熱”
編輯點評：近年來，隨著中國經濟發(fā)展，學中文的外國人越來越多。據統(tǒng)計，全球約有三千萬人正在學習中文，而這一人數還在不斷增加。在加拿大，雖然漢語十分難學，但人們的學習熱情卻絲毫沒有減退。他們深知若掌握中文，前途將更廣闊。
Fluency in Chinese may mean more opportunities in Canada as more parents, students and educators recognize China's emergence, and their interest in studying the Chinese language increased.
在加拿大，越來越多的學生、家長和教師注意到了中國的崛起，他們學中文的興趣也與日俱增，一口流利的中文也預示著更多的機遇。
The mushrooming of interest is not only among Chinese Canadians, but people with different ethnic backgrounds, said language experts.
語言專家表示，中文熱的升溫不僅表現在華裔加拿大人身上，許多不同種族的人對于學中文更是熱情高漲。
In Hamilton, almost 200 students with different ethnic and professional backgrounds were the first students of the Confucius Institute at McMaster University starting June, 2009.
漢密爾頓麥克馬斯特大學于2009年6月創(chuàng)辦了孔子學院，首批入學的學生人數達200名之多。這些學生來自不同種族，專業(yè)背景也各不相同。
Margherita Cina, who brought the first gold medal for Team Canada in last year's World Wushu Championship, is one of them. After almost one-year study, she and her classmates have learned several hundred Chinese characters through learning Pinyin -- the Chinese phonetic alphabet.
在去年的世界武術錦標賽上，為加拿大隊贏得首枚金牌的瑪格麗塔•西納也是該學院的一員。經過差不多一年的學習，她和其他同學通過拼音（漢語中的音標字 母），已掌握了幾百個漢字。
"I have been exposed to Chinese culture for a long time. I like Chinese culture and this is the main reason I am learning Chinese, " Cina told Xinhua in her halting yet understandable Mandarin.
西納在接受新華社采訪時，用不太流利但可以讓人聽懂的普通話說到：“我接觸中國文化的日子已由來已久。我喜愛中國文化，正因為這樣我才要學習中文。”
"The number of registered students is much more than we expected,"Dr. Min Cheng, the Director of the Institute told Xinhua. The institute is dedicated to promoting Chinese culture and language.
孔子學院院長成敏博士表示：“注冊學生人數遠遠超過我們的預期。”該學院致力于推廣中國文化及語言。
Interest in retaining the Chinese language is growing among Chinese-Canadians. In some messages posted online, parents share their personal experiences and lessons, and even upload Chinese language materials such as old Chinese poetries or children's rhymes and songs for others to download.
越來越多的加拿大華裔渴望進修中文。在網上的一些帖子中，家長們分享自己的個人經歷以及課程，甚至還會上傳中國古詩、童謠兒歌等中文學習資料，以便他人下載。
"More and more Chinese parents come to me asking how to help their kids keep their home language while at the same time (not falling behind) in their English studies," said Terry Kelly, who is an early literacy specialist.
幼兒早期讀寫專家特麗•凱莉表示：“越來越多的中國家長向我咨詢，怎樣幫助孩子在接受英文教育同時，保持中文水平不退步。”
Kelly has led workshops on how to retain home languages over the last eight years. She says she has known some parents who feared that introducing a second language to their children would hurt the children's ability to speak fluent English. But now things are changing, Kelly says, adding parents have realized importance of children retaining their mother tongue.
在過去的八年里，凱莉開設了保持母語水平的工作坊。她表示家長們一度擔心學習第二語言會削弱孩子講流利英文的能力。而現在情況完全不同了，家長們已經意識 到母語對孩子的重要性。
Her words are echoed by Paul Yeung, a communication specialist at Royal Bank of Canada. As a Chinese descendant himself, although he can't speak Mandarin, he sent his two-year old daughter to learn Chinese.
加拿大皇家銀行溝通交流專家楊保羅十分贊同凱莉的這番話。作為一名華裔，盡管不會說中文，但他將自己兩歲大的女兒送去學中文。
"China's economy is booming now and the economic growth is faster than any country in the world. To master the Chinese language, it means opening more job opportunities. I want my daughter to be able to read and write Chinese."
“當今的中國經濟騰飛，經濟增長速度也領先于其它國家。掌握中文就意味著擁有更多的求職機會。我希望自己的女兒能掌握中文讀寫。”
Nonetheless, not only Chinese descendants but also Canadians from other ethnic backgrounds realized the enormous benefits that will flow from learning Chinese, as China's importance in the world grows due to its rising political and economic power.
不過，隨著政治及經濟實力的不斷提升，中國在世界上占有舉足輕重的地位。除了華裔人群外，來自不同種族的加拿大人也意識到，學習中文將收益良多。
