刘宗正博士不会英文？

2005年12月17日，在备受南洋理工大学校长徐冠林垂青的哈佛大学任职的南洋大学校友刘宗正博士，于南洋理工大学之夜获得“南洋卓越校友奖”。

新加坡《海峡星期刊》Li Xueying 报导："When Dr. Liew Choong-Chin sailed from Singapore to Canada in 1962, armed with a bachelor's degree in biology from Nanyang University (Nantah), he could not speak, read nor write English."　(大意：1962年，当刘宗正博士以南洋大学生物系理学士的资格漂洋到加拿大时，他不会讲、读或书写英文。)

消息一传开，多位校友通过英语电邮纷纷表示看法，后来的邮件都有寄给刘宗正博士。有关讨论节录，曾经转发给多伦多校友和朋友，枝节消息，也在外地校友中流传。为使大家了解有关背景，以下是部分摘录：

"Is 'bad in English' stated in the report of Wang GungWu? "　(大意：王赓武报告书有说“英文很糟”吗？)

"Dr. Liew's English can't be that bad. He was from Chong Ling High School, and when He was my Chemistry teacher in Batu Pahat, I had a good impression of his English. I don't think they used Chinese textbook in Dept of Biology. I don't know where the message got lost somehow."　(大意：刘博士的英文不致那么糟。他毕业于钟灵中学。当他在巴株巴辖担任我的化学教师时，我对他的英文留下好印象。我不相信生物系采用中文课本。我不知道信息从那里流失了。)

"Based on my knowledge that many departments at Nantah, especially those in the College of Science, used English textbooks, over the past 45 years, I have been insisting that Nantah graduates generally have proficiency in two major languages than just one, as in the case of graduates of the University of Singapore. Now, a world-renowned scholar has proved me wrong. I have to retract my statement."　(大意：据我所知，南大许多学系，尤其是理学院各系，都采用英文课本。这45年来，我一直坚信南大毕业生大体会用两种主要语文，不像新大毕业生只会一种语文。现在，一个世界卓越学者证明我错。我只好收回我的声言。)

"I think the games of discrediting our beloved Nantah are still going on such as the Sunday Times' report. Nantah Alumni should be aware that they could be used for such hidden purposes in very smart ways."　(大意：我想，像海峡星期刊那样破坏南大名誉的勾当还在进行着。南大校友必须留意可能被巧妙的隐蔽意图利用。)

"Perhaps it is about time for you to write to the Sunday Times to Ms. Li Xueying to clarify your conversation with her and get her to apologize of misquoting you. " 　(大意：或者现在是刘博士写信要求海峡星期刊记者 Li Xueying 澄清有关交谈，并且要求为错误报导道歉的时候。)

"The obvious first thing is to inform all NU alumni that Dr. Liew's 'NTU Distinguished Alumni Award as NU 1962 alumnus who could not speak, read nor write English' has clearly shown that he has no respect to NU's true 1953-1980 history."　(大意：最明显的第一件事是告知南大校友，刘博士的‘南洋理工大学卓越校友奖形成1962年南大校友不会会讲、读或书写英文’的言论，清楚地说明他不尊重南大 1953-1980 的真正历史。)

"As to Dr. Liew's statement about not having any proficiency in English, I take it as an embellishment to make his success look even more outstanding. It might have given me, one who has always insisted that Nantah was at least bi-lingual, a slap in the face. But I now suspect that Dr. Liew was just showing a common human frailty."　(大意：刘博士关于英文不行的言论，我认为是一种装饰，使他的成就显得更突出。对我坚持南大至少通用双语文的观点，无异掴了一巴掌。但我怀疑刘博士只是表露了人类常见的脆弱性格。)

"Talking about traps, I think more successful and more influential alumni are more likely to be seduced into the traps. Some alumni in Singapore may have no choice but to fall into the traps. Some may fall into the traps without their own knowledge. ... And, of course, there are also some who truly agree and help killers and ghosts to build the traps."　(大意：谈起陷阱，我想越成功越有影响力的校友更会被引入陷阱。一些新加坡校友不得不走入陷阱。一些校友在不知觉中跌入陷阱。……当然，也有一些校友真正同意而且协助杀人魔鬼制造陷阱。)

"Strait Times knows how to protect itself. The conversation of interview is normally recorded on tape, and distortion is rare. I believe what was reported in the press. Hard luck!"　(大意：海峡时报知道怎么自我保护。记者访问通常都收录在音带上，很少曲解。我相信报上的报导。倒霉！)

"Dr. Liew had no reason to allow himself to be enticed by the award. From his peers and fellow alumni, he has received all the accolades and prizes his academic success as entitled him. Alumni in Toronto have celebrated with him his well-deserved public recognition. He does not need to betray the trust Nantah alumni have held in him since the successful Toronto Reunion."　(大意：刘博士没有理由容许自己被奖牌诱惑。他已经从他的同事和校友获得所有应有的奖励和奖赏。多伦多的校友为他庆贺他应得的公开赏识。他不需要背叛南大校友对他举办成功多伦多联欢会所带来的信赖。)

"Dr. Liew's second error is his declaration that he could not read, speak, or write English on his graduation from Nantah. As an embellishment to his personal history, he unwittingly gave credence to the lie, spread by enemies of Nantah, that its graduates had insufficient proficiency in English to allow them a place in the internationalizing world, and therefore, in the interests of its graduates, Nantah had to be anglicized, merged with the English-speaking University of Singapore, and eventually becoming completely submerged."　(大意：刘博士的第二个错误是声称他在南大毕业后不会读、讲和书写英文。为了修饰个人历史，他不明智的让南大的敌人撒布的谎言提供论证：南大毕业生的英文在国际交流不行，南大必须英化，并入讲英语的新加坡大学，以至最后被完全淹没。)

"I do not doubt Dr. Liew's claim that he encountered difficulty in his readings when he first arrived in Canada. But an important factor here could be that Nantah graduates were not used to the pressure and the approach to graduate training in the new academic environment... But the four years at Nantah, attending classes and working with fellow students in extra-curricula activities, taught us the ability to organize and summarize, so that in the end, as we had to spend more time on reading, we digested better, absorbed more, wrote less rubbish in our papers, and excelled."　(大意：我不怀疑刘博士初到加拿大所面对的阅读困难。但是，这里的重要因素是南大校友不习惯新的学术环境的训练方式和所面对的压力。……但是，南大四年的学习以及课外学术交流活动，使我们学会组织和总结。由此，当我们花费更多时间在阅读上，我们更深入理解、消化有关知识，我们在论文上少谈废话，成绩超越。)

12月26日，刘博士要求在校友会会议上发言，声明接受南洋理工大学的奖牌，完全是个人事情，与校友会无关。刘博士表示，校友有关不会英文的评论，只是断章取义的看法，应该阅读全文报导。另从校友交流中获悉，刘博士认为没必要要求《海峡星期刊》澄清报导。

2005-12-27

(按：如果中文大意不合原意，敬请来信，将会尽快纠正。)