THE PURPOSE OF LANGUAGE
THE
PURPOSE OF LANGUAGE
Language
is an important aspect of our day to day lives. It is through language that we
connect with people and share our individual experiences. It is therefore the
cornerstone of human interaction, it is used to inform, educate and without it
communication would not be possible. The importance of language is often
overlooked and is only noticed when misunderstandings occur as they often do
when one is communicating with someone who does not have a good understanding
of the particular language (Dhankar, 2010).
A
lot can be learned from Amy Tan’s Mother Tongue. It is a book that especially
touches on the hindrances that language barriers can cause. I am an
international student constantly using English and thus this book applies. English can be described as the universal
international language as it is used even in countries that do not recognize English
as an official language. The English language therefore takes different forms
depending on the native language of the speaker.
Those
who speak what can only be described as “broken English” are perceived to be
less educated or less intelligent by those who speak proper or standard English.
In the United States such people are discriminated against and this is an issue
in places where immigrants are perceived negatively. This can also apply to
those who speak relatively good English but have heavy accents for example
native German speakers. The accents pose a barrier as certain words cannot be
easily understood.
Amy
Tan describes the English she used with her mother and how most of her friends
could not understand or make out what she said. Some of her friends could only
understand fifty percent of what her mother said, some eighty to ninety
percent. She goes on to say that at times her husband would use the same
English as she sometimes used as well. Her peers’ perceived her mother as being
less intelligent and Amy Tan was ashamed of her mother when she was younger as
she had the same perceptions.
This
brings to mind the importance of learning new languages. Those who only speak
one language do not understand the complications that arise while trying to
learn a new language. A lot of things are usually lost in translation and
native speakers may therefore have difficulties understanding those who learned
a language as their second or third language. The fact that one cannot speak a
certain language to perfection should not imply that they are less intelligent
or less educated than those who have a good hold on the language. The
importance of knowing another language other than English can be seen nowadays
as most business have gone global.
The
perception that speaking perfect English is synonymous with being intelligent
is a difficult one to overcome. This is perhaps because English has been used
as the major medium of formal and academic scripts. This assumes that English
is the most important language and that all other languages come second to it.
This is a dangerous perception as there are numerous of intelligent people in
the world who cannot speak a word of English. Intelligence should therefore not
be gauged or measured by one’s ability to speak or understand the English
language.
This
mostly applies to native English speakers. In the United States, English is the
native language of the majority of the people. Most of the citizens do not
learn another language and therefore do not understand the difficulties
associated with doing so. Most are also
of the incorrect opinion that “everyone speaks English” whereas four out of
five people in the word do not speak the language and only about seven percent
of the population of the world speak it as their first language. It is
therefore important to create awareness that a lesser understanding of the
language does not portray a lesser intelligence.
Amy
Tan explores the difficulties that came with speaking broken English. She
describes several instances that relay how her mother was treated within the
community. “I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had
to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were
imperfect. And I had plenty of empirical evidence to support me: the fact that
people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her
seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or
even acted as if they did not hear her.” The fact that her mother was a
non-native speaker of the English language brought about such difficulties.
People would ignore her and in the service industry she would receive
inadequate service. Since there is no experience that is unique to an
individual, this possibly portrays how immigrants who do not speak perfect
English are treated.
I
share Amy Tan’s distaste of the term “broken” English. This is because how a
person speaks and their accent is a part of their lives and saying there is
only one correct way of speaking a certain language creates dissonance and
disregards a person’s culture and their unique experiences. Language is part of
a person’s identity and thus this should not be disregarded by requiring them
to speak in a certain acceptable or standard way. There are over six thousand
languages spoken in the world, each associated with a unique culture and each
just as precious as the English language and we should therefore strive to
preserve each one of them.
I
believe there is beauty in every accent. Whether someone says “Engrish” or
“English” is not the issue that matters most. This does not imply that
non-native speakers of English should not strive to gain a better understanding
of it. They should especially if they reside in a country where English is the
official language. However, the native speakers should understand that accents
and different pronunciations of certain words does not imply inferiority but
rather as something to be embraced as people can be united in their
differences.
Amy
Tan is also of the opinion that her mother’s English may have had some influence
in her life. This is because she performed better in other subjects in school
when compared to her grades in English. Children do pick up languages easily
which is why I is easier to raise a child to be multilingual than it is for an
adult to become multilingual. However, the home environment does play a role in
this. The communication skills that a child learns early in life act as the
foundation for future language development. Amy Tan is a proficient writer even
though she did not excel in English while in school. This is because she has
mastered the ability to use what she describes as simple English and as a
result she is able to keep her audience enthralled without alienating them with
big words.
In
reference to Amy Tan using different “Englishes”, I think that we all speak
different forms of the same language to different people. Among young people
certain words evolve different meanings that people of older generations would
not quite understand. There is therefore not one correct way of speaking a
certain language. The language people of a particular age group use among
themselves differs from the language they use with their parents and also
differs with that they use with their employers. Language therefore takes many
different forms and they should all be accepted.
Language
is an integral part of our lives and our being. How we speak tells a story of
where we are and of our experiences (Bonvillain, 2013). It is vital to learn
other languages besides our native language as this would aid us to understand other
people’s cultures. How people speak should not be taken as an indicator of
their level of education or of their intelligence but as an indicator of their
experiences. Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” is a book that has raised awareness as
to the state of immigrants and how they are viewed. Language should therefore
be taken as an expression of one’s individuality and people’s differences
should be viewed as learning tools.
References
Dhankar, R. Importance
of Language. From the Editor, 10.
Bonvillain, N. (2013). Language,
culture, and communication. Pearson Higher Ed.
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