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Oct 19, 2013 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

A great many Guyanese men are today wishing they were in school so that they can learn Portuguese and thus be able to communicate with some of the beautiful Brazilian women that are in the country at the moment.
From the way some of these men stare at our foreign guests, you just know that they would love to be able to learn a few Portuguese sentences just so as to strike up a conversation with these lovely lasses from our southern neighbour.
The pilot scheme for the teaching of Portuguese in our schools is to be welcomed. This should be followed by the teaching of Chinese also because the two largest influxes of economic immigrants to our country are from Portuguese speaking Brazil and China. Indeed, the Chinese has transformed the commercial sector of Guyana and has allowed many Guyanese to benefit from low-cost items. They bring real benefits to the Guyanese people and it is important that our people know how to communicate with them.
Right now many Chinese stores are employing locals to communicate with customers. Some of the Chinese nationals are unable to master English effectively and therefore when you go into some Chinese stores, it does present a problem from some of the foreign personnel to understand what it is you are looking for. The local workers are acting as intermediaries as well as employees. They know where the goods you want are located and they go and get it. But when it comes to discounts, it seems as if the true meaning become lost in translation.
It would be good for Guyanese to also learn Chinese so as to improve the communication.
The Brazilians have transformed the interior of Guyana. If they had not come to Guyana, the gold industry would have tied. And they have also set up businesses in the city. They spend their money lavishly and have made a great impact on the entertainment industry. You go to any of the popular watering holes and nightclubs on Saturday nights and there are often more Brazilians than there are Guyanese.
Without the Brazilians, not only would the interior return to stillness but the nightlife in the towns would be dulled. Brazil is an emerging power in South America. It is at the backdoor to Guyana and there are vast opportunities for doing business with Brazil. Brazil is going to become the next global power behind China and India and therefore it is in Guyana’s interest to begin to integrate our peoples and to improve and deepen relations. We should learn Portuguese so that we can better do these things.
The recent decision by the Ministry of Education to begin teaching Portuguese in some schools is a welcome decision. It is something that was talked about since the rice flour days but nothing ever came of it. Today a start has been made and this should be supported.
The teaching of Portuguese does not de-emphasize the teaching of Spanish, In fact both languages are similar and learning either will help you to master the other better. There should be no fear of Spanish being neglected.
From all accounts, students are not being compelled to choose Portuguese over Spanish. They can choose either or both. They can also do other languages.
The programme is expected to expand as more teachers are trained to teach Portuguese. And here a word of caution is made. It is one thing to know a foreign language. It is another thing to teach it. Therefore a great deal of emphasis should be placed on ensuring that those put to teach the language are trained to do so.
There is also the problem of street languages to formal languages. What some of the folks on the streets speak is not necessarily the way the language is taught and therefore it is important that the students be forewarned not to take their lead too early from the lingo they overhear in the streets.
It is hoped that professional groupings will also get involved and begin to learn some foreign languages. Our immigration officers for example need to be proficient in foreign languages because if someone arrives here and does not know English too well, that person may find problems in communicating with our immigration officers.
The Ministry of Education should therefore consider providing language services to various persons, including Immigration officers, hoteliers and other service providers because as more economic immigrants and tourists arrive, the need for multi-lingual skills will be sorely needed.

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