the.world.is.flat-第7节

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bizarre　to　watch。　The　class　I　sat　in　on　was　being　trained　to　speak　in　a　neutral　
middle…American　accent。　The　students　were　asked　to　read　over　and　over　a　single　
phonetic　paragraph　designed　to　teach　them　how　to　soften　their　r's　and　to　roll　their　
r's。　
Their　teacher；　a　charming　eight…months…pregnant　young　woman　

dressed　in　a　traditional　Indian　sari；　moved　seamlessly　among　British；　American；　and　
Canadian　accents　as　she　demonstrated　reading　a　paragraph　designed　to　highlight　
phonetics。　She　said　to　the　class；　〃Remember　the　first　day　I　told　you　that　the　Americans　
flap　the　'tuh'　sound？　You　know；　it　sounds　like　an　almost　'duh'　sound…not　crisp　and　
clear　like　the　British。So　I　would　not　say〃…here　she　was　crisp　and　sharp…'〃Betty　bought　
a　bit　of　better　butter'　or　'Insert　a　quarter　in　the　meter。'　But　I　would　say〃　…her　
voice　very　flat…〃'Insert　a　quarter　in　the　meter'　or　'Betty　bought　a　bit　of　better　
butter。'　So　I'm　just　going　to　read　it　out　for　you　once；　and　then　we'll　read　it　together。　
All　right？　'Thirty　little　turtles　in　a　bottle　of　bottled　water。　A　bottle　of　bottled　
water　held　thirty　little　turtles。　It　didn't　matter　that　each　turtle　had　to　rattle　
a　metal　ladle　in　order　to　get　a　little　bit　of　noodles。'　
〃All　right；　who's　going　to　read　first？〃　the　instructor　asked。　Each　member　of　the　class　
then　took　a　turn　trying　to　say　this　tongue　twister　in　an　American　accent。　Some　of　
them　got　it　on　the　first　try；　and　others；　well；　let's　just　say　that　you　wouldn't　think　
they　were　in　Kansas　City　if　they　answered　your　call　to　Delta's　lost…luggage　number。　
After　listening　to　them　stumble　through　this　phonetics　lesson　for　half　an　hour；　I　
asked　the　teacher　if　she　would　like　me　to　give　them　an　authentic　version…since　I'm　
originally　from　Minnesota；　smack　in　the　Midwest；　and　still　speak　like　someone　out　
of　the　movie　Fargo。　Absolutely；　she　said。　So　I　read　the　following　paragraph：　〃A　bottle　
of　bottled　water　held　thirty　little　turtles。　It　didn't　matter　that　each　turtle　had　
to　rattle　a　metal　ladle　in　order　to　get　a　little　bit　of　noodles；　a　total　turtle　
delicacy　。　。　。　The　problem　was　that　there　were　many　turtle　battles　for　less　than　oodles　
of　noodles。　Every　time　they　thought　about　grappling　with　the　haggler　turtles　their　


little　turtle　minds　boggled　and　they　only　caught　a　little　bit　of　noodles。〃　
The　class　responded　enthusiastically。　It　was　the　first　time　I　ever　got　an　ovation　
for　speaking　Minnesotan。　On　the　surface；　there　is　something　unappealing　about　the　
idea　of　inducing　other　people　to　flatten　their　accents　in　order　to　compete　in　a　flatter　
world。　But　before　you　disparage　it；　you　have　to　taste　just　how　hungry　these　kids　are　
to　escapethe　lower　end　of　the　middle　class　and　move　up。　If　a　little　accent　modification　
is　the　price　they　have　to　pay　to　jump　a　rung　of　the　ladder；　then　so　be　it…they　say。　
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〃This　is　a　high…stress　environment；〃　said　Nilekani；　the　CEO　of　Infosys；　which　also　
runs　a　big　call　center。　〃It　is　twenty…four　by　seven。　You　work　in　the　day；　and　then　
the　night；　and　then　the　next　morning。〃　But　the　working　environment；　he　insisted；　〃is　
not　the　tension　of　alienation。　It　is　the　tension　of　success。　They　are　dealing　with　
the　challenges　of　success；　of　high…pressure　living。　It　is　not　the　challenge　of　
worrying　about　whether　they　would　have　a　challenge。〃　
That　was　certainly　the　sense　I　got　from　talking　to　a　lot　of　the　call　center　operators　
on　the　floor。　Like　any　explosion　of　modernity；　outsourcing　is　challenging　traditional　
norms　and　ways　of　life。　But　educated　Indians　have　been　held　back　so　many　years　by　
both　poverty　and　a　socialist　bureaucracy　that　many　of　them　seem　more　than　ready　to　
put　up　with　the　hours。　And　needless　to　say；　it　is　much　easier　and　more　satisfying　
for　them　to　work　hard　in　Bangalore　than　to　pack　up　and　try　to　make　a　new　start　in　
America。　In　the　flat　world　they　can　stay　in　India；　make　a　decent　salary；　and　not　have　
to　be　away　from　families；　friends；　food；　and　culture。　At　the　end　of　the　day；　these　
new　jobs　actually　allow　them　to　be　more　Indian。　Said　Anney　Unnikrishnan；　a　personnel　
manager　at　24/7；　〃I　finished　my　MBA　and　I　remember　writing　the　GMAT　and　getting　into　
Purdue　University。　But　I　couldn't　go　because　I　couldn't　afford　it。　I　didn't　have　the　
money　for　it。　Now　I　can；　＇but＇　I　see　a　whole　lot　of　American　industry　has　come　into　
Bangalore　and　I　don't　really　need　to　go　there。　I　can　work　for　a　multinational　sitting　
right　here。　So　I　still　get　my　rice　and　sam…bar　＇a　traditional　Indian　dish＇；　which　
I　eat。　I　don't　need　to；　you　know；　learn　to　eat　coleslaw　and　cold　beef。　I　still　continue　
with　my　Indian　food　and　I　still　work　for　a　multinational。　Why　should　I　go　to　America？〃　
The　relatively　high　standard　of　living　that　she　can　now　enjoy…enough　for　a　small　
apartment　and　car　in　Bangalore…is　good　for　America　as　well。　When　you　look　around　at　
24/7's　call　center；　you　see　that　all　the　computers　are　running　Microsoft　Windows。　
The　chips　are　designed　by　Intel。　The　phones　are　from　Lucent。　The　air…conditioning　
is　by　Carrier；　and　even　the　bottled　water　is　by　Coke。　In　addition；　90　percent　of　the　
shares　in　24/7　are　owned　by　U。S。　investors。　This　explains　why；　although　the　United　
States　has　lost　some　service　jobs　to　India　in　recent　years；　total　exports　from　
American…based　companies…merchandise　and　services…to　India　have　grown　from　
29　
2。5　billion　in　1990　to　5　billion　in　2003。　So　even　with　the　outsourcing　of　some　service　
jobs　from　the　United　States　to　India；　India's　growing　economy　is　creating　a　demand　
for　many　more　American　goods　and　services。　What　goes　around；　comes　around。　
Nine　years　ago；　when　Japan　was　beating　America's　brains　out　in　the　auto　industry；　
I　wrote　a　column　about　playing　the　computer　geography　game　Where　in　the　World　is　Carmen　


Sandiego？　with　my　nine…year…old　daughter；　Orly。　I　was　trying　to　help　her　by　giving　
her　a　clue　suggesting　that　Carmen　had　gone　to　Detroit；　so　I　asked　her；　〃Where　are　
cars　made？〃　And　without　missing　a　beat　she　answered；　〃Japan。〃　
Ouch！　
Well；　I　was　reminded　of　that　story　while　visiting　Global　Edge；　an　Indian　software　
design　firm　in　Bangalore。　The　company's　marketing　manager；　Rajesh　Rao；　told　me　that　
he　had　just　made　a　cold　call　to　the　VP　for　engineering　of　a　U。S。　company；　trying　to　
drum　up　business。　As　soon　as　Mr。　Rao　introduced　himself　as　calling　from　an　Indian　
software　firm；　the　U。S。　executive　said　to　him；　〃Namaste；〃　a　common　Hindi　greeting。　
Said　Mr。　Rao；　〃A　few　years　ago　nobody　in　America　wanted　to　talk　to　us。　Now　they　are　
eager。〃　And　a　few　even　know　how　to　say　hello　in　proper　Hindu　fashion。　So　now　I　wonder：　
If　I　have　a　granddaughter　one　day；　and　I　tell　her　I'm　going　to　India；　will　she　say；　
〃Grandpa；　is　that　where　software　comes　from？〃　
No；　not　yet；　honey。　Every　new　product…from　software　to　widgets…goes　through　a　cycle　
that　begins　with　basic　research；　then　applied　research；　then　incubation；　then　
development；　then　testing；　then　manufacturing；　then　deployment；　then　support；　then　
continuation　engineering　in　order　to　add　improvements。　Each　of　these　phases　is　
specialized　and　unique；　and　neither　India　nor　China　nor　Russia　has　a　critical　mass　
of　talent　that　can　handle　the　whole　product　cycle　for　a　big　American　multinational。　
But　these　countries　are　steadily　developing　their　reseach　and　development　
capabilities　to　handle　more　and　more　of　these　phases。　As　that　continues；　we　really　
will　see　the　beginning　of　what　Satyam　Cherukuri；　of　Sarnoff；　an　American　research　
and　development　firm；　has　

called　〃the　globalization　of　innovation〃　and　an　end　to　the　old　model　of　a　single　
American　or　European　multinational　handling　all　the　elements　of　the　development　
product　cycle　from　its　own　resources。　More　and　more　American　and　European　companies　
are　outsourcing　significant　research　and　development　tasks　to　India；　Russia；　and　
China。　
According　to　the　information　technology　office　of　the　state　government　in　Karnataka；　
where　Bangalore　is　located；　Indian　units　of　Cisco　Systems；　Intel；　IBM；　Texas　
Instruments；　and　GE　have　already　filed　1；000　patent　applications　with　the　U。S。　Patent　
Office。　Texas　Instruments　alone　has　had　225　U。S。　patents　awarded　to　its　Indian　
operation。　〃The　Intel　team　in　Bangalore　is　developing　microprocessor　chips　for　
high…speed　broadband　wireless　technology；　to　be　launched　in　2006；〃　the　Karnataka　IT　
office　said；　in　a　statement　issued　at　the　end　of　2004；　and　〃at　GE's　John　F。　Welch　
Technology　Centre　in　Bangalore；　engineers　are　developing　new　ideas　for　aircraft　
engines；　transport　systems　and　plastics。〃　Indeed；　GE　over　the　years　has　frequently　
transferred　Indian　engineers　who　worked　for　it　in　the　United　States　back　to　India　
to　integrate　its　whole　global　research　effort。　GE　now　even　sends　non…Indians　to　
Bangalore。　Vivek　Paul　is　the　president　of　Wipro　Technologies；　another　of　the　elite　
Indian　technology　companies；　but　he　is　based　in　Silicon　Valley　to　be　close　to　Wipro's　
American　customers。　Before　coming　to　Wipro；　Paul　managed　GE's　CT　scanner　business　
out　of　Milwaukee。　At　the　time　he　had　a　French　colleague　who　managed　GE's　power　


generator　business　for　the　scanners　out　of　France。　
〃I　ran　into　him　on　an　airplane　recently；〃　said　Paul；　〃and　he