The language of change in Cambodia

"When we can show that we have the rule of law and stability, the investors will be from ASEAN countries, and they speak only English," says Ok Socheat, a member of the National Assembly.

To develop the infrastructure to accommodate the business it hopes to attract, Cambodia needs to train a new generation of infrastructure builders. Many of them are studying at the Institut de Technologie du Cambodge, the country's main state-run college, charged with turning out graduates in subjects such as computer science and civil engineering.

For five-year-degree students, all the classes are held in French. So are government-supported programs in law, medicine, fine arts, and agriculture - fields in which most international cooperation occurs in English. Teachers lament that they have no choice, because the school's budget comes almost entirely from France.

When the Vietnamese controlled Cambodia from 1979 until 1990, the school operated under the patronage of the Soviet Union, and the language of instruction switched to - what else? - Russian.

But since then, students have become more vocal on their language preferences. In 1993, when the college came back under French influence, students held demonstrations to demand that the school at least offer basic English classes. They won, but the main language of instruction - and instruction books - remains French.

The institute's director of studies, Nuth Sothan, acknowledges that studying computers in French puts some students at a disadvantage in the job market.

"It is difficult when the students go to private companies to get training, because when they get there they find out that all the companies are English-speaking," Mr. Nuth says, as some of his colleagues nod in agreement.

That is why Sok Sothea, a 21-year-old accounting student, attends the English-language National Institute of Management, a higher-priced private school across town.

"A lot of companies are coming here to invest, so Cambodians want to come here to study most. For me, English is what's important in Cambodia now. So much of our technology is not modern," she says on a break from classes.

To be sure, the old-nouveau influence is far from unwelcome, particularly among tourists seeking charm and gourmet cooking at rock-bottom prices. The return of the French has brought great restaurants and lovely little guest houses, not to mention some of the city's hip boutiques.

"OK, maybe this is a way to promote French. But the French are the only ones that create any cultural events here whatsoever," says Francois Heyman, the co-owner of the Khmer Village shop. "If you think about the Americans, they're just here for business."

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