Atthepeakofthisculturalwaveoflanguagelearning,althoughHerbertMushangwe,adistinguishedChinesespeakerandteacherfromZimbabwe,wasaproductofhisowntrajectorybeforetheBeltandRoadInitiativewasinitiatedin2013,hehascertainlybenefitedfromitsimplementation.Bornin1981intoafamilywithdeepZimbabweanroots,MushangwegrewupinthetownofMasvingo,wherehealsoattendedandcompletedhisprimaryandhighschooleducation.In2007,hereceivedascholarshiptopursueamaster’sdegreeprograminChinaatTianjinNormalUniversity.TheprogramrequiredhimtolearnChinesefirst,sinceitwasgoingtobetaughtinthatlanguage.
“Duringthefirsttermofmystudies,IfoundtheChineselanguageandcultureeasyandfascinating.Iwassoexcitedtolearnanewlanguage;IneverfeltembarrassedtospeakChineseduringmyfirstdays,”herecalled.HesaiditwasaroundthistimethathewasgiventheChinesenameLiKaiming.“IwasgiventhisnamebecauseIrefusedthetransliteratednameHaibote(fromHerbert).MyChineseteacherthoughtIwastooopen-minded,hencethenameKaiming,”hetoldChinAfrica.
Thelanguageoffate
Initially,Mushangwedidn’tsetouttobeaChineseprofessor.“In2008whenIdiscoveredthatmyschooldidnothavetheactualprogramthatIwantedtostudy,IappliedthroughtheUniversityofZimbabwetochangemyprogramtotheTeachingofChineseasaSecondLanguageprogram,”heexplained.
UpongraduationfromTianjinNormalUniversityIn2011,MushangwewentbacktotheUniversityofZimbabwetoteachChinese.Oneyearlater,hedecidedtopursueaPh.D.programontheChineselanguageatHebeiUniversityinBaodinginnorthChina’sHebeiProvince,whichhecompleted.ItwashisenthusiasmandloveoflearningChinesethatendedupdictatingthecareerpaththatbroughthimtorejointheUniversityofZimbabwewherehecurrentlyteachesChineselanguagecourses.ForMushangwe,becomingaChineseteacherisavalidatingexperienceandthesaying“thosewhoknownothingofforeignlanguagesknownothingoftheirown(language),”ringsparticularlytrueforhim.
HehasproducedbooksonlearningtheChineselanguageinhiscountry.“I’veproducedtwocriticalbookswhicharecrucialtotheteachingoftheChineselanguageinZimbabwe.ThefirstisaShona-ChinesedictionaryandthesecondoneisanintroductiontoChinesecharactersfromaZimbabweanperspective.’’
Mushangwe’sfascinationwithChineseledhimtopursueacareerinthelanguage,butitishisjobthatallowshimtogivebacktohiscountry.“ForthenationofZimbabwe,IparticipatedinthedevelopmentoftheChineselanguagecurriculaforprimaryandhighschools.IalsodevelopedthenewChinesehonorsprogramfortheUniversityofZimbabwe.”
AsateacherinZimbabwe,heisinterestedincontributingtothedevelopmentofhiscountryandwantstoachievethisthroughlanguage.Heisdedicatedtomakingthebestofhistimeasateacher.“Iwantthepeopleofmycountrytobeattheforefrontofdevelopment.IbelievethatthroughteachingthemtheChineselanguage,notonlywillitmakeZimbabweanscompetitiveintermsofexploringtheChinesemarket,butitwillalsoincreasethe[financial]securityofZimbabwe,”hesaid.HerbertMushangweonthejudgingpanelofthe17thChineseBridgeChineseProficiencyCompetitionforForeignCollegeStudentsinChangsha,HunanProvince,onAugust4FRANCISCOLITTLE
Broadvision
Asastrongmotivatorforhisstudents,MushangwedescribedhisvisionfortheChineselanguageinZimbabweasonewhereeveryprogressiveschoolinthecountrywilltrainbusinesspeople,engineers,lawmakersandexpertsinotherfieldswhoareproficientinChinese.
ThatvisionfeedsintohisthoughtsontheBeltandRoadInitiative.Fromalanguageperspective,Mushangwesaidhethinksthattheinitiativehasaroletoplay.“Learningthelanguageensuresthatthereisnocommunicationbarrier.Thelanguageprovidesthenecessarybridgetoensurethatpartnershavebettermutualunderstanding,”hesaid.
Hethinksthatwhileeachlanguagehasitsownrelevance,forZimbabweandAfricaatlargegoingforward,theChineselanguageseemstobeagoodoptiontolearnbecauseoftherangeofopportunitiestheChinesemarket,withmorethan1.3billionpeople,offers.
“Thefutureisuncertain,butIwouldcertainlysaythatEnglish,FrenchandChinesewillremainrelevantforthenextthreeorsodecadesandpeopleoughttousetheselanguagesasmuchaspossible.WithinAfrica[traditionally],IwouldpredictSwahilias[being]oneofthemostrelevant[languages]infuturedecades.”
MushangwesaidhebelievesthatitisnecessaryfortraininginstitutionsinAfricatoembrace,expandandimprovetheircurriculainordertoproducerelevantskilledChinesetranslatorsaswellaseducatemoretalentsfluentinlesscommonlyusedlanguagesinAfrica.
“ChinesecultureshapesChinesepeople’sbehaviorandhowtheydobusiness.ThismakesitcompulsorytohaveastrongbackgroundoftheChineselanguage,”hesaid.
Bigroletoplay
ChineselanguageserviceprovidersinAfrica,likeMushangwe,maynothaveacollectivelyunifiedroleasyettoplaybesidesthatofbridgingpeople-to-peoplelanguagebarriers;nevertheless,MushangwecertainlyseesanimportantroleforhispeersinpromotingSino-Zimbabweanrelations.
“NowbeingpartoftheConfuciusInstitute,weprovideaplatformtopromotetheSino-ZimbabweanrelationshipthroughtraininglanguageexpertsaswellasorganizingworkshopsandconferencesrelatedtoSino-Zimbabweanrelations.”Thisyear,Mushangweparticipatedinthe17thChineseBridgeChineseProficiencyCompetitionforForeignCollegeStudentsasoneofthepaneljudges.ThelanguagecompetitionisChina’spremiercontestforforeignstudents.Mushangwesaidhehopesformoreeventsliketheseinthefuture.
HehighlightedthatsimilarlanguagecapacityprojectsshouldbeinitiatedundertheBeltandRoadInitiativeasawaytocultivatemoretalentoflesscommonlyusedlanguagespeakersinordertopromotetheuseoftheChineselanguageinAfricancountriesalongtheBeltandRoad.MushangwesaidhebelievesthatChineselearningwillempowerZimbabweansandotherAfricanswithregardstolanguage.
“AspartoftheConfuciusInstituteandasalanguageexpert,IhavethedutytoprovideaplatformtopromotetheSino-ZimbabweanrelationshipthroughtraininglanguageexpertsaswellasorganizingworkshopsandconferencesrelatedtoSino-Zimbabweanrelations,”Mushangwesaid.
“IencourageAfricangovernmentstoexpandlanguagetraininginAfrica.ManydevelopedcountriesteachtheChineselanguagemainlyforbusinesspurposes,soIbelieveAfricashouldnotbeleftout,”heconcluded.CA
**Commentsto
AspartoftheConfuciusInstituteandasalanguageexpert,IhavethedutytoprovideaplatformtopromotetheSino-ZimbabweanrelationshipthroughtraininglanguageexpertsaswellasorganizingworkshopsandconferencesrelatedtoSino-Zimbabweanrelations.