A Matter of Taste

Many people in Japan believe that the aim of learning English is to become able to speak it like native speakers do. Accordingly, they are deeply sensitive to the way native speakers talk, and always fear that their English might be besmirched with Japanese color. That’s why all those natives-don’t-say-so kinds of books abound in the bookstores. Well, it is not a bad thing to try to emulate them, but remember that even if you are unable to speak that fluently, you don’t need to feel uneasy or diffident.

Nobody can deny that English is now the international language, and if you don’t want to be cut off from communication with the rest of the world, you should have at least a reasonable knowledge of the lingua franca. But this doesn’t cancel the fact that the current situation gives native speakers of English a big head start, for at least linguistically, they don’t have to learn any grammar or acquire any new vocabulary in order to play an active role at the world stage.
For nonnative speakers, simply using English in communication requires investing a great deal. Just think of so much time and energy you’ve spent, if not wasted, learning or studying English! If so, why should you feel inferior or embarrassed just because your English is less than perfect or even broken? Don’t you think the onus is upon native speakers to try to understand your fractured English, not the other way round?

Now English has established its status, it might be difficult to look at things that way, but take a step backwards. Almost all the linguists, including those whose mother tongue is English, admit that English has become what it is now only by chance, and that its influential status in the world today has nothing to do with its superiority as a language. If this is true, as I think it is, then any other language could have been in the place that English now holds.

So, let’s try a thought experiment. Suppose Japanese were now the de facto international tool of communication, in lieu of English. In that case, what would happen? The answer is this: wherever you went, you wouldn’t have to feel any timidity about communication if only you knew Japanese. Indeed, if people in any country couldn’t understand you, you could simply say disdainfully, “But they don’t even understand Japanese,” as if that were the mark of their inferiority in every other respect. Don’t you think this kind of thing would be ludicrous? But consciously or unconsciously, we believe that this is the kind of situation where native speakers of English are virtually placed. That’s why even when talking with them in Japan, we fear our English might not be good enough.

It's irrelevant here to say that many native speakers are not that hubristic. Please remember I’m not saying this to inveigh against native speakers of English or accuse them of being arrogant. The point is that we are acting as if they were entitled to behave that way. How else could we account for our tendency to respect and admire them when they speak slowly or try to understand our broken English? Deep down, we feel that our failure to speak English could deprive us of the right to communicate. So the less confident we feel about our English skills, the more subservient we tend to be toward native speakers.

But this is simply not good. It completely violates the principle of reciprocity. If we cooperate with native speakers to achieve something that would be of mutual benefit, isn’t it strange for us to be deeply thankful for their “effort” simply because they deign to slow down their natural speed of speaking---especially considering the amount of time and energy it would take for us to learn even broken English?

“But the circumstances being what they are, what do you want us to do?” you might ask. Well, nothing difficult, it’s very simple. I don’t say “Stop using English,” which would be worse than ludicrous; all I say is “Speak Japanese English without fear or hesitation.” If you are already able to speak native-like English, that’s fine. You don’t need to change that. However, if you speak Japanese (or broken) English now, and feel it serves your purpose sufficiently, you don’t have to feel embarrassed about it just because some other person’s English sounds more native-like. Be proud of your Japanese English and continue to use it unflinchingly. Even if native speakers seem to have difficulty understanding you at first, be bold and say “I’ m trying to use your language now, so I would like you to try as much to understand me.” Some of them might get angry or impatient at this statement. But I’ve already explained how hubristic it would be. You don’t need to communicate with such inflexible fellows, who can never be thought of as cosmopolitan in mind.

Of course, I know there are some who don’t have native-like proficiency now but want to have it in the future because it’s cool. I never despise them nor do I insist they should renounce their dream; that’s a good dream to pursue, I believe. But please remember that whether someone wants to achieve native-like proficiency for its own sake is simply a matter of taste, and if a friend of yours happens to have a different taste, please don’t mock him or her.