Goingfromlearnertoteacher,LinaAyenewhasachievedanextraordinaryfeat:shewrotethefirstChineselanguagetextbookespeciallyadaptedforspeakersofEthiopia’snationallanguageWhenLinaAyenewsetfootinChinaforthefirsttimein2010,sheneverimaginedthatshewouldmakeherownmarkonSino-Ethiopianrelations.
AftertakingapositionofEnglishteacherinHunanProvince,insouth-centralChina,theyoungEthiopianwomanwaseagertoimmerseherselfinthenewculture.However,whilelearningConfucius’language,Ayenewquicklyrealizedthatsomethingwaswrong:ChinesetextbooksinAfricanlanguageswerenearlynon-existent.Learnersonthecontinenthadtoresignthemselvestousingthird-languagelearningmaterialstolearnChinese.
Justafewyearslater,thissituationhaschanged,thanksinparttoAyenew.InMay2016,sheauthoredthefirst-everChinesetextbookspecificallydesignedforAmharicspeakers,oneofEthiopia’sofficiallanguagesspokenbyabout22millionpeople.
“MuchlikemyjourneytoChina,thisbookmaterializedwithoutaconcreteplan,”shesaid.
PublishedinAddisAbabawiththeparticipationoftheChineseEmbassyinEthiopia,herbookDalu:IntroductiontoChineseforAmharicSpeakersgeneratedunprecedentedinterestinherhomecountry.Thefirst2,000copieswerequicklysoldout,whichtookeveryonebysurprise,includingAyenew.
“ThereactionsinEthiopiawerepositive.Infact,Iwasnotpreparedforhowmuchdemandtherewouldbeforit,”shesaid.
Fromstudenttoauthor
OriginallyfromAddisAbaba,nothingpresagedAyenew’sChinajourney.Asayounggirl,shewasfirstattractedbytheUnitedStates,wheresheembarkedonhergraduatestudiesin2006.ItisbychancethatonedayshewashandedapamphletoftheYale-ChinaAssociation,aU.S.organizationthathasbeensendingstudentstoChinaeveryyearsince1901.
“Idecidedtoattendoneoftheinformationsessions,eventhoughIthoughtitwashopelessbecauseIdidnothaveanyChina-relatedexperience.Buttomysurprise,theysaidtheyacceptapplicantswho,likeme,wereChinanewbies,”shesaid.
AyenewwassenttoXiangyaSchoolofMedicinewithCentralSouthUniversityinHunanin2010,whereshetaughtEnglishandpublichealthclasses.Afterthisfirstcontact,shecontinuedherdiscoveryofChinesecultureatBeijingLanguageandCultureUniversityfortwoyears.WhenshecamebacktoEthiopia,shewasshockedbyhowmuchherhometownhadchanged.
“IwasreallyamazedathowChinamadeahugeimprintinmycity.EventhoughIvisitedAddisAbabaquiteoftenwhileIlivedabroad,IwasstillsurprisedbyhowmanyChinesegroceryshopsandrestaurantshadpoppedup.TheChinesewerealsobuildingthelightrailacrossthecity.Theirpresencewasbeingfelteverywhere,”shesaid.
Shequicklyrealizedthatlanguagefluencywasamuchsought-afterskillinthisnewcontext.
“ImetwithmanyChinesenationalswhoworkedinAddisAbaba,fromshopownerstocompanyexecutives.Inourfirstmeeting,manywouldhearmyChineseandoffermesomekindofjoboropportunity.YoucouldtellthatspeakersofAmharicandChinesewerewhattheywanted.Butatthetime,youcouldn’tfindmanyEthiopianswhospokeChineseproficiently.”
Andforgoodreason:therewasnosingleChineselanguagemanualinAmharicatthetime.That’showtheideaofwritingonecameabout.“So,kindoflikeahobby,Ibeganwritingthisbook.Thatishowitallbegan,”shesaid.Herexperienceasastudentprovedveryusefulinherwritingprocess.ManyEthiopiansbecomediscouragedafterafewweeksofstudy,sheexplained,becausetheChinesetransliterationsystemisdifficulttolearnandthereisadisconnectionbetweenthelessonsandtheirdailylives.
Asasolution,hertextbookteachesChinesepronunciationdirectlyintheAmharicalphabet,allowingEthiopianstoapproachthisforeignlanguagethroughafamiliarpath.“Infact,IfeltthattheAmharicscriptcapturedChinesesoundssomuchbetterthantheEnglishalphabet,”shesaid.
Inaddition,thecontentisdirectlyrelatedtothedailylifeandcultureofEthiopians,reducingtheperceivedculturaldistance.“ImadesurethatthebookincludedcontextsthatareparticularinEthiopiasothatreadersfeellikeourcultureandChineseculturehavealotofparallels.”ThetextbookalsocomeswithaudiolessonsteachingthebasicsofpronunciationandtonesofChinese,whichareacommonstumblingblockforforeignlearners.
Along-termrelationship
InAyenew’sopinion,the“Chinesefever”inEthiopiaisnotlikelytosubsideanytimesoon.SheexpectsthatmoreandmoretextbooksadaptedtoAfricanlearnerswillmaketheirwaytobookshelves.“Justafewyearsago,noonewasgoingtoChinatostudy.Irememberthatevenin2011or2012,manyEthiopianswouldbeamazedthatIwaslivinginChina.Today,it’scommonplace,”shesaid.AccordingtotheEthiopianInvestmentCommission,Chineseinvestmentsinthecountryarepickingup,particularlyintheleatherandtextileindustries.From2012to2017,279ChinesecompanieshadoperationsinEthiopia,valuingatmorethan$572million.Inthiscontext,AyenewfirmlybelievesintheimportanceofusingandpopularizingAfricanlanguages.
“Althoughitisimportanttolearnthelanguagesofothers,havinganunderstandingofyourownlanguagegivesyouthisdimensionofunderstandingofyourownculture.ItisalsoimportanttonotsimplyrelyontheWestasawaytoconnectAfricaandChina,”shesaid,pointingoutthatmoreandmoreAfricanlanguagesarebeingtaughtatChineseuniversities.“Ithinkalineofdirectcommunicationcanbenefitbothsides.”
Indeed,Ayenewhasnoshortageofplansforthefuture.“IwillsoonlaunchadigitallearningplatformthatbringsmoreeducationalcontentsinlocalEthiopianlanguages.IamcooperatingwithKhanAcademy,aleadingdigitaleducationorganization,onthisproject,”shesaid.
ConvincedthatthegrowingChinesepresenceinAfricaisapositivetrend,sheisalsobusytryingtodocumentthisprocess.Everyyear,shepublishesMega-ThemesinAfrica-ChinaRelations,asummaryofthemostimportanttrendsinthefield.“IfyoudonotknowaboutAfrica-Chinarelations,youshouldstartfromthispublication.Itfirststartedaspartofaconsultingprojectandthentookalifeofitsownsincethen.Itisnowinitsfourthyear,”shesaid.
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