Whose English is it anyway?

A LINGUISTIC, CULTURAL OUTLOOK TO ENGLISH

As a student, I took a summer job in the US, where one of my responsibilities was to answer incoming telephone calls. In midst of a telephonic conversation, the voice on the other side asked me if there was someone else in the office who could speak better English. I paused for a second and replied ‘no’. The person on the other end decided to hang up. English is not my first language. Nor is it second, third, or even fourth. Before I was exposed to any formal English language instructions, I learnt Hindi, Magahi, Bhojpuri, and Maithili. I learned English as a foreign language in public schools of Bihar. Then used it as a medium of instruction at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, but never developed a habit of using it on a daily basis until one day I landed up in a remote sleepy campus town called Champaign-Urbana, home to the University of Illinois.

For me, learning English was not a pain-free exercise. Understanding the grammar, memorising irregular verb patterns, subject–verb–object word order, pronunciation…you get the idea. But here I am today, living in the US for more than 20 years now and have not been able to reconcile the differences between my (Indian) English and ‘American' English. So, I face the question — whose English is it anyway? Mine, or the person on the phone who wanted to speak to someone who spoke ‘better English' than me? Before you make up your mind let us dig a little deeper on this subject. In an era of growing technology, where the entire world rests on your palm and the sea of knowledge is only a tap away, this old Sanskrit saying vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the entire world is truly just a family) sounds as modern as the technology itself.

As we take giant leaps in the fields of science and technology, the world keeps getting smaller and smaller. In our global village, we come in contact with others across the globe and conduct business with millions of people who speak different languages, and follow different religious and cultural beliefs. Because of this socially, culturally, and linguistically diverse world, the task of communicating effectively has become challenging. Much time, energy and resources are devoted to achieving what is referred to as effective communication.

But effective communication may not, or does not come easy. The root cause of ineffective communication, which can lead to misunderstanding and confusion, is that all human languages are inherently ambiguous. It requires much experience, context, and other background information to clarify ambiguity in all languages. The problem of communication is doubly compounded in English because of its status as a world language. English is spoken all around the globle and it serves as the common language in almost any field. There are many well-recognised varieties of English, such as American, British, Australian (together native varieties), Indian, Singapore, Nigerian, etc, (non-native varieties). Considering all these varieties of English, the problem of clarity in communication becomes acute. Each of these varieties, native or non-native, carry with it not only the elements of language (grammar, syntax, phonology), but also layers of socio-cultural components.

It is imperative to be aware of and try to grasp these differences in order to be a successful communicator. Differences in accent or choice of words are more obvious to the listener. But differences at the level of discourse are subtle and, therefore, are much nuanced and complex. When, as a child, I first read Cecil Frances Alexander's poem, All things bright and beautiful, I could not understand how the summer sun could be pleasant. Similarly, when I told my students here at the University of Illinois that India has several festivals celebrating the rainy (monsoon) season, I got the ‘You've got to be kidding' looks.

Communication problems among different varieties of English are not confined only to miscommunication. Without appropriate linguistic and cultural awareness, it may even lead to no communication at all. Additionally, upon encountering a non-native variety, a native speaker of English may even feel that his/her linguistic norms have been violated. Many native speakers may also consider differences in non-native varieties of English as deviant at best and possibly altogether incomprehensible and inferior. However, in many of these non-native varieties of English, it is actually in the deviation that English acquires contextual appropriateness. So, next time you say to someone that “I have preponed my India visit by a week” or “We will be shifting to our new house next month”, and get that stare, you know you are dealing with someone who speaks a different variety of English that you do.