12.02.2007

English

When I was staying in Singapore, I took cabs to go town.
Of course, I took subways as well, but when I took cabs,
I could enjoy conversations with drivers.

As most of people already know that Singaporeans can
speak and understand English. Plus, most of them can
handle Chinese as well. When we think of the globalisation,
the US plays an important role in general. And the UK is
also important in terms of the relation with the US. In
addition to this, China has become an important country
in the international relations. Based on these facts, the
ability of language, especially English and Chinese is really
crucial to consider my position in the globe.

Huge information is on going back and forth every second.
When I stay in Japan, most of information is in Japanese.
I can access the foreign information which someone translates
for us, which means, the information is through the translator's
angle. In a sense, I can say, people like Japanese need to have
the ability to judge what is truth and what is an important
point in information.

I imagine that Singaporeans can understand what the CNN
or the CNBC says when they watch news in a real time. Yes,
here in Japan, they show the news as live with translations,
but what about the subtle nuances in each news? The way of
talk by reporters, and the way of showing the news... I assume
Singaporeans can judge the news more intelligent than us.

When I took cabs, some drivers were listening the radio. I thought
they were more knowledgeble about many things like not only what
is going on the globe but also how the world connects with or
without their intentions.