Can You Speak English? 你會說英文嗎?

English is a very popular language. It is, in one sense at least, the most popular language, with about 1,800,000,000 speakers worldwide. Compare this to Chinese, of which there are 1,345,000,000 speakers worldwide. 英文是一門熱門的語言. 它是世界上最多人使用的語言. 目前說英文的人口有18億,比起說英文的人口,說中文的人數只有13億4500萬.

One thing that might surprise you, however, is the fact that Chinese has more native speakers than English does. 845,000,000 people speak Chinese as their first language, compared to 328,000,000 people speaking English as their first language. With regard to native speakers, even Spanish has about a million more native speakers than English does. 可是以中文為母語的人口比以英文為母語的人口多. 以中文為母語的有845,000,000人. 這個人數比328,000,00以英文為母語的人數大得多. 連以西班牙文為母語者還是比英文多100萬.

All of which means that English isn't necessarily the most "popular" language in the world, just the most studied. Certainly the combined economic might of Western countries is one reason for this. The giant shadow cast by Hollywood films and other forms of American media is another. 從這比較數字來看, 英文不是最"熱門"的語言. 卻是最多人學習的. 這與西方國家的經濟與科技發展有關. 也受美國電影跟音樂影響很大.

I just wonder if people sometimes miss the point of studying English. Yes, proficiency in English will open up a number of opportunities, but people seem to forget that the opportunities realized through English study are not the only ones out there. I've known Taiwanese people with a skill in music or dance, for example, who've not only traveled the world but also made a fair amount of money doing so. Scooter mechanics, to use another example, can be quite successful without any proficiency in English. 我想很多人搞不清楚為甚麼要學英文. 當然學好英文在工作上比較有發展機會, 可是不一定什麼機會都需要靠英文. 有的人很會跳舞或唱歌, 有的人很會畫畫還是修理機器. 有這種能力的人也能生活得很好, 不管他們的英文程度如何.

All I'm saying is that it might be worthwhile to contemplate the relevance of English to your daily life and goals. Some people use English to get into a good college, some people use English to get a job, and some people just use English to make friends or see the world in a different way. What you use English for depends on your own attitudes, likes, and dislikes. You can use English for many purposes, you just need to be clear about what those purposes are. 我的意思是確認您的學習目標有助於您的學習成果,有的人學習英文是為了進入大家公認的好學校,有的人則是為了工作上的需要,也有很多人是為了交朋友和拓展視野,您的學習態度和喜好影響您學習英文的方向,您可以為了很多不同的原因學英文,但是首先必須知道你的學習目的是什麼.