Do you speak English?
What do you call a person who speaks three languages?
Trilingual.
What do you call a person who speaks two languages?
Bilingual.
What do you call a person who speaks one language?
English…
If you’re reading this then I guess the answer is probably yes. So, my next question is, do you speak anything else? And if not, why not?!
People in the UK and USA today find themselves in a uniquely privileged position. English has become a truly international language, learnt and spoken by people in every corner of the globe. No matter where we go on holiday, we can rest assured that we wont have insurmountable problems making ourselves understood. Lucky us! Whilst the worlds other nationalities grapple with our irregular grammar and devote years to the study of our bizarre pronunciation, we can relax safe in the knowledge that we already have a perfect command of the worlds dominant language. Learn French? No way! Let the French learn English! After all, if we try to communicate with them in their own language, we’d be the ones at a disadvantage. And that would never do!
STOP!
THINK!
English is arguably the worlds international language. But only for today. Yesterday it was Latin, tomorrow it could be Chinese. Imagine how hard it would be for you to learn Chinese. Do you think its any easier for the Chinese to learn English?! Of course not, it’s a nightmare! Whatever you may think, English is no easier to learn than any other language. It’s also no better or no more valid. There is in fact no good reason why the rest of the planet should slog its guts out learning our lingo, while we categorically refuse to learn its. And one day the rest of the planet might realise that!
Here in Britain we pride ourselves on our sense of fair play. But how fair are we being to the rest of the world? Every year thousands of us go abroad to countries whose languages we don’t speak. What’s our excuse? We don’t need to learn the language because all foreigners speak English. Anyway it’s not like we want to actually talk to the natives, except to order a few beers off them. Curious and curiouser! How would you feel if two people came to visit you, sat in your house and drank your beer, and rather than talking to you, their host, spent the whole time talking to each other in a language you didn’t understand. I’m guessing you might be a teensy weensy bit hacked off.
NEWS FLASH:
not all foreigners do speak English. And even if some of them do, they generally prefer to communicate in their own language. If you really want to get to know a country and its inhabitants, the best way is to learn the language.
When you speak to people in their native tongue you immediately experience a different side to their personality. Often they open up to you more and you can make friends for life. Maybe you don’t want to do that. But even if you just learn a few essential phrases you’ll find that everyone, from waiters to shop assistants, is suddenly more friendly and helpful. Why? Because you’ve made the effort. You’ve shown an interest in their language and culture and attempted to talk to them on their level, as opposed to arrogantly assuming they can automatically comprehend your every English wish and desire. And so you should, because at the end of the day it’s only polite to try, no matter how bad you think you normally are at languages.
No one expects you to learn fluent Arabic. But please and thank you wouldn’t go astray and are within all our capabilities. And who knows, once you start learning you might surprise yourself. Dismiss all your bad memories of GCSE French! Language learning can be fun and just because you didn’t have an aptitude for one language at school doesn’t mean you cant succeed with another one. At the end of the day it’s not important what level of linguistic proficiency you attain. It’s the trying that counts and so long as you approach travel with a positive and respectful attitude, you’ll be helping to solve the global problem of linguistic injustice.
