中国人与印度人：到底谁的英文好？China: better English students than India?

When the British Council published a study saying China had more English speakers than India readers with experience of both countries wondered aloud where China was hiding all those Anglophones. Even in Shanghai, with its British colonial past, taxi drivers are about as likely to speak English as they are to obey traffic signs; neither has really caught on.

英国大使馆文化教育处(British Council)曾发布过一项研究结果，称中国说英语的人数已经超过印度，当时亲历过这两个国家的读者满腹狐疑地问道：中国把这么多说英语的人都藏到哪里去了？即便是在有着英国殖民历史的上海市，出租车司机会说英语的可能性，就和他们遵守交通标志的可能性一样高——这两种习惯都没有真正流行起来。

Now comes another study about how China is drawing neck and neck with India – and eroding the comparative advantage of the sub-continent.

如今又有一项研究显示，中国的英语语言能力开始与印度并驾齐驱，中国正日渐侵蚀印度次大陆的相对优势。

EF, Education First, the international education company, on Wednesday published what it claims is “the world’s first index to compare the English-language ability of adults in different countries”. Based on free online tests completed by 2m adults around the world, the index ranks China and India almost equal. You can read the report here: www.ef.com/epi/download-full-report/

国际教育集团EF英孚教育(Education First)周三发布了一份指标，宣称这是“全球首个比较不同国家成人英语语言能力的指标”。基于全球各地200万名成人完成的免费在线测试结果，该指标给予中国与印度的排名几乎相当。读者可以在下述网址阅读到完整的报告：www.ef.com/epi/download-full-report/。

Neither country will be delighted to find that they are neck and neck in having only “low proficiency” in English. But given China’s comparative strength in physical infrastructure, any sign that the mainland might have eroded its comparative disadvantage with India in language skills will surely be welcome in Beijing.

无论是中国还是印度，如果得知自己与对方得分不相上下、英语只具备”低熟练度(low proficiency)”，都不会感到高兴。但鉴于中国在实体基础设施方面的相对优势，任何表明中国大陆在语言能力方面相对印度的劣势可能正在日益缩小的迹象，肯定都会受到中国政府的欢迎。

EF admits that its rankings – which are based on the results of voluntary, free online tests used as a marketing tool for its English courses – are scarcely a measure of the linguistic skills of the entire population. At best, the index measures “the English skills of adults who aspire to have better English” – already a self-selected class.

EF英孚教育承认，基于自愿免费在线测试结果（其英语课程的营销工具之一）的排名并不能精确地代表整个国家的总体英语熟练度。充其量，该指标只是衡量了“希望提高英语水平的成人英语技能”——这已经是一个经过了自我筛选的群体。

But the results are surprising nonetheless – and feed that fashionable sense of Western insecurity that has caught on since the OECD recently announced that Shanghai has the world’s smartest 15 year olds . They may not be much at English chit-chat (Chinese schools are notorious for thinking language has nothing to do with communication), but one thing seems clear: they are born knowing how to spell Tiger Mother.

尽管如此，结果还是让人大感意外，而且加深了西方国家的不安全感。在不久前经合组织(OECD)宣布上海15岁学生是全世界的最优秀学生之后，这种不安全感已经开始迅速蔓延。这些学生可能不太擅长用英文聊天（中国的学校总是觉得语言与交流无关），但有一件事似乎非常清楚：他们生来就知道如何拼写“虎妈”(Tiger Mother)。

译者/管婧