On Learning English
A correspondent from the Czech Republic
asks a powerful question:“How would you encourage
English language learners at secondary
and postsecondary schools;
what do they have to be careful about
and what joys can they expect
when dealing with a language of
some 2 billion speakers worldwide?”
In a way, the question answers itself.
English enables you to communicate with
a third of the world's population,
and that has to be a plus on the agenda of anyone
with an international outlook. That third, moreover,
is hugely diverse. English is present, as a first,
second, or foreign language, in every country in the world.
So, in using it as a tool,
you have an unparallelled opportunity to
explore the individuality of nations and peoples.
The metaphor of the tool is important.
English is not a prism, through which you see others.
It is a tool which enables you to
have a close encounter with others.
Culture is not wholly dependent on language,
but it does need language to explain its uniqueness—
an experience all travellers have had, as they watch,
say, a local folk dance and wonder what it is all about.
However, the metaphor of the tool only goes so far,
because you can change the character of the tool
to suit your purposes. If you have adopted English
as one of your languages, then you are able to adapt it—
to take personal ownership of it.
One of the great joys of making headway
in a new language is that you can use it to talk about
what you want to talk about—and if
that means inventing new words,
to express your local experience,
then do not hesitate to invent them.
Just translating the culture of your school
and town into English—such as the names of localities
and personalities—will immediately add dozens of new expressions.
Don't restrict yourself to the words
that are already in the dictionaries.
English is yours now. The words and expressions
you and your fellows invent today might be
in the dictionaries of tomorrow, if they catch on.
You're doing nothing that hasn't already been done
thousands of times before. New words were added to
English within days of the first settlers
arriving in America from Britain,
and the same pattern has been observed
in all countries where a community of users has evolved.
What you find yourselves doing you will see
being done elsewhere. So to adopt the motto of
the scouting movement—be prepared.
Be prepared for linguistic diversity, change,
playfulness, and creativity wherever you listen
and look on radio and television, in the press,
literature, film, pop music, the internet...
Develop a sense of the kind of English
that is appropriate to particular circumstances.
And make it your major aim to be so
in control of your own English that you can vary it
to suit the circumstances in which you find yourself.
Your goal is not to learn English, but Englishes.
The same principle applies to any language, of course,
but it is particularly important in the case of English
because of its global reach.