University to teach 11 more languages
Print Edition
A BEIJING university is adding 11 language courses, mostly African and Oceanianic tongues, to boost support for the country’s ties with the regions, an official said yesterday.
Beijing Foreign Studies University is to offer Kurdish, Maori, Tongan, Samoan, Comorian, Tswana, Ndebele, Creole, Shona, Tigrinya and Belarusian courses to undergraduates.
The languages are used in west Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean, Africa, and eastern Europe, regions sharing closer ties with China under the Belt and Road initiative aimed at bringing investment, infrastructure and interconnectivity to ancient trade routes.
On Monday, New Zealand, where Maori is an official language, signed a memorandum of understanding with China on the Belt and Road Initiative.
“Chinese proficient in local languages and cultures are lacking in some participating countries of the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Guo Wei, an official in the university’s publicity department. “The university is helping to equip more students with language skills and knowledge of regional affairs to meet the demand.”
The university will be setting up more language majors, especially those used by countries along the Belt and Road, Guo said.
The university now has 84 language majors and plans to increase it to more than 100 in 2020, covering all countries that have diplomatic relations with China.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
