They're all speaking English!

When I landed in Detroit, I noticed several things right away: people were very well dressed and looked prosperous; the restaurants accepted American money; the American flag was flying; all the toilets were Western; and everyone was speaking English. Not only did they speak English, they were proficient at it!

In China, most people know a little English, but only the very educated will control our idioms and rules. The English used by Chinese native speakers who have not fully mastered our language is sometimes called Chinglish. I don't like the term; nor do I like the term 'broken English.'

The mistakes of a non-native speaker can be hilarious. Grammatical forms, sound patterns, and idioms are inappropriately transfered from the native language to what linguists call the 'target language.' The Nanjing natives found my attempted Chinese pretty funny, especially since my English is pretty good. The illustrative below examples are from http://pangea.stanford.edu/~pvermees/chinglish/index.html





























All humans have a native language, but to speak English natively in this century is a privilege. English at this moment is the pre-eminent international language. If one knows English well, one has access to special opportunities unavailable to native speakers of other languages. My recent trip to China, where I was welcomed and even lauded for my efforts, is an example of this privilege. All over the world, people need English and welcome teachers of our language with open arms.

English dominates commerce and technology not because of its beauty, but because of the power associated with its use. The special status of English is a result of now-defunct British colonialism and America's current military and economic status. There have been other international languages in the past: Latin, and later French. At present, English is in ascendancy, but this could change. We who speak English natively and love it should have a certain modesty about our good fortune.

It is great to be back in our land where the stars and stripes fly, excellent English is spoken, and yes... where there are wonderful toilets.