英语圈实力不减:唱衰英语者醒醒吧

China’s enrollment figures in private English as a Second Language (ESL) courses and related test preparation programs continue their longstanding high growth rates.
长期以来，中国报名参加英语学习及相关考前培训的人数持续高速增长。

Despite some prominent observers in the U.S. and U.K. lamenting the decline of these great countries and offering pessimistic views about the future, younger Chinese still correlate good English language ability with career success. This is sensible, practical, and smart.
尽管美英两国的一些主流观察家都在哀叹美英地位的衰落，对未来充满了悲观情绪，但中国的年轻一代依然认为出众的英语能力是关乎事业成功的重要因素。这种看法非常明智和务实。

An article in the Winter 2012 edition of the quarterly “City Journal” offers comparative profiles of the economic clout of the countries they describe as the “Anglosphere” (U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) and those which comprise the “Sinosphere” (Greater China, including Taiwan and the Hong Kong and Macau S.A.R.s).
《City Journal》2012（冬季刊）刊登了一篇文章，对所谓的“英语圈”（美、英、加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰、爱尔兰）与“汉语圈”（包括台湾、香港、澳门在内的大中华区）的经济实力进行了一番对比。

The authors, Joel Kotkin and Shashi Parulekar, take the view that despite many challenges, the Anglosphere is alive and well:
该文作者Joel Kotkin和Shashi Parulekar认为，虽然英语圈面临着重重困难，但状态依然安好：

It’s indisputable that the Anglosphere no longer enjoys the overwhelming global dominance that it once had. What was once a globe-spanning empire is now best understood as a union of language, culture, and shared values. Yet what declinists overlook is that despite its current economic problems, the Anglosphere’s fundamental assets — economic, political, demographic, and cultural — are likely to drive its continued global leadership. The Anglosphere future is brighter than commonly believed.
英语圈曾主宰全球的时代已一去不返，这一点无可争辩。曾经一统天下的英语帝国如今只能作为语言、文化和共同价值的联合体。但“唱衰者”们忽略了一点，虽然目前经济问题重重，但英语圈的根本——经济、政治、人口、文化——仍会保持世界领先地位。英语圈的未来比人们通常认为的都更加光明。

In economic terms, using purchasing power parity data, the Anglosphere remains by far the world’s largest economic bloc, representing more than 25% of world GDP.
按照经济学中的购买力等价数据统计，英语圈至今仍是全球最大的经济体，代表了全球25%的GDP。

The Sinosphere is a strong second, accounting for just more than 15%. India, by comparison, accounts for some 5.4% of world GDP.
汉语圈势头强劲，排名第二，但GDP只占全球15%多一点。相比之下，印度在全球GDP中所占的比例为5.4%。

The Anglosphere’s per capita GDP is more than 5 times that of the Sinosphere, and 13 times that of India.
英语圈的人均GDP相当于汉语圈的5倍，是印度的13倍。

Although the Sinosphere has experienced explosive growth in the number of companies large enough in revenue terms to make the FORTUNE Global 500 list, it still has a long way to go in terms of having big global companies which are also widely admired for their innovation, their values, governance and management style.
虽然汉语圈按公司收入能跻身《财富》世界500强的大企业在数量上经历了爆炸性的增长，但想要拥有在创新、价值观、公司治理、管理方式等各方面都广受尊重的大型跨国企业，该地区还有很长的路要走。

Due in part to educational and legal infrastructure (e.g. intellectual property protection), the Anglosphere is home to the vast majority of the world’s software, biotech, and aerospace companies – industries where R & D and innovation are crucial elements of success.
考虑到教育和法律基础建设（如：知识产权保护）的缘故，世界主要软件、生物技术和航天企业多选择在英语圈落户，因为这些行业的成功很大程度上取决于研发和创新。