“Pashto? You want to learn Pashto?” I looked at my 11-year-old son in astonishment. He has just sat his 11-plus exam but even if he gets in to the local selective day school, Pashto is not on the curriculum. Pashto is the senior of the two state languages of Afghanistan, article 20 of whose constitution states that the Afghan National Anthem “shall be in Pashto”. So why does Cost Centre #3 suddenly want to learn a language that he has never heard spoken before? Because he believes that Britain will still be sending troops to Afghanistan by the time he is old enough to serve his country – and he wants to be ready.
“普什图语？你想学普什图语？”我惊讶地看着11岁大的儿子。他刚参加完小学毕业考，但即使他进入当地的精英私立走读学校，课程表上也不会有普什图语。普什图语是阿富汗两种官方语言中地位较高的一种，该国宪法第20条规定，阿富汗国歌“将采用普什图语”。那么，“成本中心3号”为何突然想学一门他此前从未听别人讲过的语言呢？原因是，他相信，直到他到了足够效忠国家的年纪时，英国将仍在向阿富汗派驻军队——而他想做好准备。