Out of the over 6 billion world population, approximately 915 million speak the English language which is between 15 to 17 percent. However, if a native English speaker comes across someone who speaks a different language the English speaker will usually berate the the other person, in English, for not speaking the English language. Why is this such a critical issue? Not every single person on this planet can speak a general language, and native English speakers have no right to berate other speakers for not speaking the same language. There are about 7,300 languages that exist throughout the world, yet those who speak English as a first language somehow made it a requirement that every single person speaks English to them or else it is impossible to communicate.
Personally I would like to berate those who berate others who do not speak English because what they are displaying when doing that is called "ignorance", such a thing that knows no bounds in a certain country, which I will not say in this blog, because the ones who are native speakers of the English language who berate others who cannot speak English are closed-minded, ignorant, and are unable to establish common ground with foreign speakers. This is an issue that exists not only on the outside world but also on the internet as well, although not perfect there is something called a "translation site" to at least help someone understand what someone else is saying, but no, to those close-minded native English speakers: every one must speak English.
I am actually surprised and disappointed that they berate foreign speakers for not speaking English over the internet as well and what is even worse is when an native English speaking customer or worker berates the foreign speaking customer or worker in the workplace. Now this just unprofessional and plain rude because certain native English speakers will always have a high expectancy level that every single person within that workplace speaks English, and if they do not then they have no right of being there. This is also an issue throughout society as well, ranging from a social gathering to an educational setting and this is an issue that knows no bounds and there is no sight of an ending either unfortunately.
I don't know how or why English became the "lingua franca" (frank language) for communications between native English speakers and foreign speakers but honestly, those close-minded native English speakers have absolutely no right to treat foreign speakers in such an unacceptable manner. To end this rant blog I would like to leave those with a piece of wisdom: if you, a native English speaker got lost in a foreign country that did not adopt the English language as a set of spoken languages and you attempted to communicate with someone who did not speak English and they berate you for not speaking their language, how would you feel then? Put yourself through someone else's perspective before forcing your own on other people and expecting them to accept it.
English is not my native language and I experienced the mock that other people put against me when I was a young girl. I grew up learning two languages, English and Tagalog (a language from the Philippines). As a young girl I was made fun of due to my thick English accent, but now I actually speak way better in English than Tagalog.
ReplyDeleteI was scolded by some people, but I can't say that everyone is ignorant. There are some situation when you just feel left out because you're with a group of people who are speaking a language that you can't understand. Nobody wants the feeling of being left out. In English only facilities, I understand why they have that policy. Some people think it is rude if other people around them speak another language that they cannot understand. Then there are those who argues that English only policy is discriminating those with different ethnic backgrounds which prevent unwanted race or ethnicity into the facility. But a lot of different type of ethnicity has the ability to speak English just fine.
I really do not know why English became the “lingua franca." One reason that I can think of is that the top first world countries are English native speakers. And for lower ranked countries, they want to be able to achieve the success that first world countries achieved. So why not learn English to communicate and learn from them?
You're rant about native speakers berating others, that do not speak English very well is a very well constructed argument. Your thoughts on this are similar to mine, I do not understand why people have the nerve to put down others in terms of differences. Maybe because English speakers feel some false sense of superiority and mixed with ignorance- You get discrimination. I believe that English as a lingua franca has positive effects in the global level. It enables greater exchange of ideas and goods. Anyways, back on your rant; I get your point, and here is my theory. Whenever something rules, and overwhelms the general community, where one is of greater number than the other. Some, will unavoidable cling on to this factor as a sense of superiority. This has been evident in history. Although the negatives are present, I do think globalization of English is overall positive. A universal language enables the function of a language, which is – to communicate.
ReplyDeleteYou note, “I don't know how or why English became the "lingua franca" (frank language) for communications between native English speakers and foreign speakers..” This is because of the globalization of the world. English has been dominant in 1st world countries, (like marlene said) and the natural needs of humans promotes communication between these countries, so they somehow developed English. The exchange of goods and knowledge will also, be a factor of the globalization of English. As the world continues to exchange, the English language will continue to grow.
I agree that many people are ignorant when it comes to dealing with someone who speaks another language. I don't like people who get upset when people are encountered by someone and then make a big deal about it. Especially when your in their home country. I've seen it happen in Mexico. I think it is ignorant that an American man gets upset that someone talked too him in Spanish in Mexico. That does not make sense at all. If your there just say you don't know spanish and the person will walk away. They may not speak English but they understand it.
ReplyDeleteHere at home I do get frustrated when some people come up to me and ask me something in Spanish. Even though I am latino I think it is ignorant to assume that all latinos speak English. I know there might be a double-standard but I wouldn't go up to some guy and start speaking to him in Mexico. Same goes for here. If you are going to be in this country, especially live in this country, than I would recommend learning English. It is hard for people to live here if they just speak Spanish.