哈薩克斯坦語言學校興起漢語熱
“China is the key for your future,” reads a notice pinned to the wall, jostling for attention alongside a toy panda, Chinese wall hangings, and plastic bamboo.
“中國對你們的未來至關重要，”牆上釘着的一則告示寫道。與這則告示一樣引人注目的，是一隻玩具熊貓、中式壁掛和塑料竹子。
On a Tuesday evening at this Almaty language school several small groups are engaged in learning Chinese.
在一個週二的晚上，在阿拉木圖的這所語言學校裏，幾組學生正在聚精會神地學習漢語。
Viktoriya Nazarchuk, a 33-year-old painter, says she became interested in the language through an enthusiasm for Chinese calligraphy. Like most students of Chinese in Kazakhstan, however, she also has an eye on Beijing’s growing economic clout.
33歲的畫家維多利亞•納扎爾丘克(Viktoriya Nazarchuk)說，她愛好中國書法，並由此喜歡上了漢語。不過，就像哈薩克斯坦大多數學漢語的人一樣，她也密切關注着中國日益增強的經濟影響力。
“We need to get acquainted with their culture, history and language,” she says. “When my level is high enough I plan to teach my little son Chinese, too. He will need it in his future life.”
“我們需要熟悉他們的文化、歷史和語言。”她說道，“當我水平足夠高時，我還打算教我小兒子漢語。他在以後的生活中將需要漢語。”
As China’s economic power in the region grows, Ms Nazarchuk is one of a growing number of central Asians looking to learn Chinese. Nurzhan Baitemirov, founder of East-West Education Group, which owns the language school where Ms Nazarchuk is studying, says his focus is shifting. The company once specialised in teaching English to Kazakhs, but it is now increasingly educating them in Chinese.
隨着中國在中亞的經濟影響力不斷增強，越來越多的中亞人考慮學習漢語，納扎爾丘克就是其中之一。東西教育集團(East-West Education Group)創始人努爾然•拜捷米羅夫(Nurzhan Baitemirov)表示，他正在改變自己的工作重心。這家集團曾專注於教授哈薩克斯坦人英語，但如今開設了越來越多的漢語課程。納扎爾丘克學漢語的語言學校就隸屬於該集團。
“West Kazakhstan [the country’s main oil-producing region] used to be Canadian companies, but they have shifted and it is now majority Chinese companies. It’s better if you speak Chinese if you want to get a position,” says Mr Baitemirov, who has a masters degree from Wuhan. The number of students learning Chinese is increasing by 5 per cent a month, he estimates. “Parents do understand that if their child has a good education in Chinese they have good job prospects,” he says. “They’re seeing there are a lot of Chinese investments here.”
“哈薩克斯坦西部（該國主要產油區）曾是加拿大企業的地盤，但情況已經發生了變化，如今那裏大多是中國的企業。如果你想找份工作，最好是會說漢語，”已在武漢獲得碩士學位的拜捷米羅夫說。據他估計，學漢語的學生人數每月增加5%。“家長們明白，如果他們的孩子接受了良好的漢語教育，就會有不錯的職業前景。”他說，“他們注意到，中國在這裏有大量的投資。”
The number of Kazakh citizens studying in China has risen more than fivefold in the past decade to 12,000, according to the China Scholarship Council, a government body that helps overseas students study in China. Beijing, meanwhile, has set up 11 Confucius Institutes to promote Chinese language and culture in the five Central Asian “stans”.
中國國家留學基金管理委員會(China Scholarship Council)數據顯示，過去十年裏，在華留學的哈薩克斯坦公民人數增加了四倍多，達到1.2萬人。該委員會是一家幫助海外學生在華留學的政府機構。與此同時，北京方面已在中亞五國開辦了11所孔子學院(Confucius Institute)，推廣中國的語言、文化。
Even Kazakhstan’s first family has endorsed learning Chinese: Dariga Nazarbayeva, deputy prime minister and daughter of the country’s president, in February said that Kazakh children should learn Chinese in addition to Kazakh, Russian and English. “China is our friend, our trading partner and the biggest investor in the economy of our country,” she said. “In the near future, we all need to know Chinese.”
就連哈薩克斯坦的第一家庭也已爲學漢語背書：哈薩克斯坦總統之女、該國副總理達麗加•納扎爾巴耶娃(Dariga Nazarbayeva)在2月表示，除了哈薩克語、俄語和英語，哈薩克斯坦兒童還應學習漢語。“中國是我們的朋友、貿易伙伴和我國經濟的最大投資者。”她說，“在不遠的將來，我們都得懂漢語。”
Not everyone is convinced. According to public opinion surveys funded by the Eurasian Development Bank, only one in six Kazakhs see China as a “friendly country”, compared to 84 per cent for Russia and 48 per cent for Belarus. On the other hand, China was among the top three nations most likely to be named as an “unfriendly country”.
並非所有人都相信這一點。歐亞開發銀行(Eurasian Development Bank)的民意調查顯示，僅有六分之一的哈薩克斯坦人視中國爲“友好國家”，認爲俄羅斯和白俄羅斯爲友好國家的比例分別爲84%和48%。另一方面，中國在最有可能被稱爲“不友好國家”的名單裏排進了前三名。
“Statistically China is a very important trade partner of Kazakhstan. But a lot of people in Kazakhstan don’t think of China as a big investor. They think of China as a big problem — people here believe China tries to increase its economic influence without any benefit to our countries,” says Dosym Satpayev, a Kazakh political scientist who heads the Almaty-based Risk Assessment Group.
“在統計數字看，中國是哈薩克斯坦非常重要的貿易伙伴。但很多哈薩克斯坦人並不認爲中國是一大投資者。他們認爲中國是個大麻煩——這裏的人相信，中國試圖擴大其經濟影響力，而我們的國家卻從中撈不到半點好處，”阿拉木圖智庫“風險評估集團”(Risk Assessment Group)負責人、哈薩克斯坦政治學家多西姆•薩特帕耶夫(Dosym Satpayev)說。
Part of the reason is historical: when their countries were part of the Soviet Union, Central Asians looked to Moscow for work, education and culture. Those ties have persisted after independence — as have Soviet-era clichés that paint China as a threat. Indeed, Sinophobia could be one of the greatest challenges for Beijing’s Silk Road project.
這種觀點在一定程度上是歷史造成的：蘇聯未解體時，中亞人在工作、教育、文化方面仰仗莫斯科。這種紐帶在蘇聯解體後存留了下來，正如蘇聯時代把中國描繪成威脅的那些陳詞濫調一樣。實際上，恐華情緒可能是中國絲綢之路計劃面臨的最大挑戰之一。
A proposal for China to lease a large area of land for agriculture triggered public protests in Kazakhstan in 2010. This year there was uproar in the north-western city of Aktobe after it was reported that the local affiliate of China National Petroleum Corporation was requiring workers to take Chinese language tests.
2010年，一項把大片土地租給中國企業用於農業開發的提議在哈薩克斯坦引發了公衆抗議。今年，哈薩克斯坦西北部城市阿克託別(Aktobe)發生了騷動，原因是有報道稱，中國石油天然氣集團公司(CNPC)在當地的一家子公司要求工人蔘加漢語考試。
The “people-to-people bond” is officially one of China’s five goals in the region. But analysts say efforts to expand soft power have fallen short. “I do not think China has done enough. They have work to do to create a favourable image,” says Zhao Huasheng, director of the Centre for Russia and Central Asian Studies at Fudan University.
“民心相通”是中國正式公佈的在中亞地區的五個目標之一。但分析人士表示，中國擴大軟實力的努力未能達到目標。“我認爲中國做得還不夠。他們需要努力打造一種良好的形象，”復旦大學國際問題研究院俄羅斯中亞研究中心主任趙華勝說。
At the language school in Almaty, though, Beijing has no image problem. “Chinese people are simple, open and friendly,” says Yulia Abritsova, a 36-year-old interpreter who visited China for the first time last summer and plans to return for a degree. “It’s a bit like the Soviet Union.”
不過，在阿拉木圖的這所語言學校，中國的形象沒有任何問題。“中國人簡單、開放、友好，”36歲的口譯員尤利婭•阿布裏佐娃(Yulia Abritsova)說道。她第一次去中國是在去年夏天，現在打算回中國去讀個學位。“中國有點像蘇聯。”
