EXPATRIATES IGNORE TOK PISIN

In this milleneum, expatriates come to Papua New Guinea with no interest in learning Tok Pisin and a marked desire to speak only in English.

Part of the reason is that Australia employs privatized aid. The private companies regard Tok Pisin training as a totally unnecessary expense. Does it earn money? No. Forget it.

Take Coffey for example. That company employs a Papua New Guinean or two to run a short familiarization course for a few days and then that is it.

The assumption is that the PNG person has to be the best teacher. The best teacher makes the best teacher.

There is also the view that the PNG people make the best military history advisors on Kokoda. Um, the Australians went up there and um, the Japanese went over there.

New arrivals leave the Coffey course able to say "Moning tru" and "Tengku tru". Profit speaks.

There is a deep problem in this country. Tok Pisin lies between the devil and the deep blue sea.

It has been used in some schools as sole medium of teaching. It means that students have a total lack of English. That is foolish.

The problem with education in the world is that changes are made in large pendulum swings.

English is out. Tok Pisin is in. Tok Pisin is out. English is in.

There is no concept that schools should promote Tok Pisin for two lessons a week. That applies to all vernacular languages.

As it is, modern Tok Pisin is bastardized language. The kids use a version that is far removed from formal Tok Pisin. The standard language is disappearing.

The hey day of expatriate training in Tok Pisin was the 1970s to 1990s.

Hordes of Australian defence personnel and wives attended the Tok Pisin training at the then RAAF School of Languages prior to posting to this country. Please click:

TOK PISIN FOR EXPATRIATES

These days foreign advisors strike a pseudo-professional pose by claiming that it is their professional duty to talk to the 'natives' in English.