Back home, a neighbor on Beechwood Drive gets upset when people speak Spanish. "If they're here, they oughta talk English," she says. I grant that every kid in our country should have the chance to learn English. It's necessary for success in America. I've written grants to improve English as a Second instruction in our regional schools But do people get upset when languages other thanEnglish are spoken? It's onlyone of thousands of languages spoken on Planet Earth.
Takes awhile to acquire a new language, and if we learn it late inlife, we are unlikely to know it remotely as well as our native tongue. Believe me, I know. Though my Chinese is improving, it's not fully functional, and we won't even talk about fluency. People here are quite patient with me. Restauranteurs are somewhat used to Americans; supermarket personnel less so. But I make an effort, and so does everyone else, and somehow we manage.
In my own country, people are often less tolerant. Why do people resent it when the Star Spangled Banner is sung in Spanish? Is it because we feel excluded when we don't understand the words? Does the presence of foreign tongues make America seem less our own? I wonder what others think about this. My own ideas are not fully formed.
It may be unsettling to realize how diverse people are,but it's also fun. It's a wonderful world.
Above: The lady at the juice stand downstairs understands me when I say "一平 橙汁，谢谢 yi ping cheng zi, please.“ (One bottle of orange juice, please.) Then again, I also point to the orange juice and and hold up one finger.
6 comments:
Bible school taught the children about the golden rule this past week. Wouldn't it be wonderful if being friendly, kind and considerate to everyone was an automatic and natural human trait?
I was born and raised in Korea. Though I was born to American parents, to communicate, I needed to speak Korean.
Here in America we speak English...at least American English. So, it would seem that anyone who comes here would need to learn the language to communicate....just like you are doing in China. You are learning their language because that is what they speak.
Bo, The Bible particularly emphasizes kindness to STRANGERS. So did Confucius. I suppose we have all been an unfamiliar neighborhood, but one has to be somewhere like this to understand what being a stranger really means. I look different from others. I understand their language minimally, and they do not understand me. I do not understand their laws. Jesus pointed out that there was no particular merit in greeting those in our own circle. In situations like this, we understand why.
NBTA,
Language learning takes awhile, though. I cannot discuss anything abstract using Chinese-- that'll take years. I don't argue that it makes sense for people residing in America to learn English. It made sense for YOU to learn Korean. It makes a lot of sense for me to learn Chinese.
It is important, it seems to me, to be aware that not everyone grows up speaking, behaving, or thinking the same way.
Roz,
Why are some very vocal Americans angry and affronted at Spanish speakers? (Let me be direct. It is Spanish they don't like.) Xenophobia, just plain xenophobia.
Delanna
Roz,
Why are some very vocal Americans angry and affronted at Spanish speakers? (Let me be direct. It is Spanish they don't like.) Xenophobia, just plain xenophobia.
Delanna
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