Immigrants, English, and the Misunderstanding of Understanding
When I first arrived in the U.S., my English was decent, not perfect. With time, I learned more words, my accent softened, and common phrases became easier to use on the fly. Yet, even now, I find communication challenging when I'm the sole non-native English speaker in a room. Add a couple of other non-natives into the mix, and I'm suddenly as eloquent as a seasoned diplomat.
For years, I learned most of my English by mimicking other English speakers (sure, some of them were fictional). And each time someone complimented my English, I wore it as a badge of honor.
A lot of immigrants share this experience. If you're a non-native speaker, chances are, you're nodding in agreement right now.
But here’s the thing. There's a fallacy embedded in our language learning journey. There is no good English or bad English, just effective and ineffective communication.
When you're struggling to keep up in a room full of native English speakers, who’s really at fault? Everyone! If we truly strive for communication and understanding, then, if anything, those who are able to consciously simplify their words and slow down bear greater responsibility.
Ideally, no one should take it personally. Communication shouldn’t be a competition. And those of us who are still improving should not be constantly mentored on vocabulary and grammar.
A colleague recently shared with me an article titled "Tower Of Babble: Nonnative Speakers Navigate The World Of 'Good' And 'Bad' English" where this very issue is put under the microscope. It states that, "when a native English speaker enters a conversation among nonnative speakers, understanding goes down". The article further argues that native speakers often use complex idioms and jargon, which makes understanding more difficult for non-native speakers.
While native speakers shouldn’t make it unnecessarily hard on non-natives, non-natives themselves should be careful of becoming part of the problem as they progress in their learning.
We often get so caught up in what we're saying that we forget about what the other person is perceiving. We’re all perfectly willing to adjust our language when texting or using memes, gifs, or emojis. Why not apply the same flexibility in other situations? There’s no point in refining our English (or any other language, for that matter) if it doesn't necessarily make us better communicators.
Even during arguments - you can’t “win” if the other person is still hung up on an unfamiliar phrase you used 3 minutes ago.
As we “get better”, we risk distancing those who are still struggling, much like we once did.
This brings us to one key point. When you talk, what’s more important to you - speaking your mind or making sure others get your message?