Kaonashi Ga Suki

My grandfather is friends with this old Filipino couple. They are very nice and friendly people, but this couple suffer from a crippling ailment shared by many other immigrants in the United States- they can’t speak English. My grandfather often has to order food for them at places like McDonald’s because they can’t speak to the cashier.

A Korean friend of mine has a mother who can barely speak English. My friend has spent most of her life translating for her- accompanying her at banks, in hospitals, etc.

Our Vietnamese (ex)-gardener also can’t speak English very well. One time he needed to talk to my dad about payment. When my younger sister answered the door, he kept saying, “You pay now!” despite several attempts of my sister trying to explain that our dad wasn’t home at the moment.

My sister’s friend’s mother can’t speak English either. She’s unable to take any messages that my sister tries to leave for her friend.

These people are not brand new to this country. They have lived here for most of their lives, yet they never learned the language. The sad thing about this phenomenon is that it is not uncommon.

If one moves to another country, isn’t it only natural to try and learn the language? If you move to France, you learn French. If you move to China, you learn Chinese. If you move to Spain, you learn Spanish. Therefore, if you move to the United States, shouldn’t you learn English? Before leaving for Japan I took an intensive summer Japanese course to help me prepare for my new life, and when I got there I found out quickly that it wasn’t enough. I felt intimidated that I couldn’t read most signs and couldn’t understand what people were saying. I resolved to study as much Japanese as possible. And while I’m nowhere near being fluent, I got to a point where I could go about my daily business with little trouble. Some of my friends lived there for 3-7 years, and their Japanese conversation skills are excellent. If my friends can pick up Japanese, a clearly difficult language, in such a short period of time, then why are there so many instances of people who have lived in the United States their whole lives not knowing a single word of English?

I understand that when people immigrate to another country, it feels a lot more comfortable and secure for them to find a community of others who come from the same cultural background and speak the same language as they do. Within the comfort of their community, they have little to no need of learning English. Why should they, when all their friends and other people around them speak their native language? When the signs of stores and restaurants they frequent are in their own language? The TV shows they watch? The newspapers they read? The music to which they listen? What need do they have of English?

I can relate to this feeling of comfort and security. In Japan I felt more at ease when I was with my fellow English-speaking friends. Since most of them could speak Japanese fairly well, I didn’t have to fend for myself when we all went out. It also felt nice to talk to people who spoke the same language since I didn’t have to struggle to understand or try to say something in Japanese. When I worked at an eikaiwa (EFL school) I was required to speak English (since I was, after all, an English teacher) inside the classroom and in between classes to the students. However, I feel that living and working in this sheltered environment had hindered my Japanese learning capabilities. For example, if I had lived in a more rural area and worked in an actual junior high or high school rather than at a company, I would have been forced to truly buckle down and learn the language since I wouldn’t have the crutch of the presence of my fellow English speakers.

I don’t know about other folks, but when I go about my daily routine, I don’t like to depend on others. I want to walk into a store and describe to the saleslady exactly what I’m looking for. If I were to get robbed, I want to be able to describe to the police what happened. If I need directions, I want to be able to understand when someone gives them to me. I want to be able to read the manuals on my electronic gadgets and not worry about frying any circuits. I also want to feel confident, that I’m never caught off guard by a native speaker. In Japan, I didn’t like the feeling whenever someone would try to talk to me, and I often responded with a feeble, “Sumimasen. Nihongo wakarimasen.” (Sorry, I don’t understand Japanese).

Of course it’s absolutely possible for a person to spend his or her entire life living in the United States without ever learning the language. Most of the time they can conduct their daily business and go about their lives without ever running into an English speaking person. I sympathize that for some people, formal schooling may not have been an option and that survival of the family was more important. But shouldn’t learning the native language of the country you live in considered a survival tactic? What if your baby is very sick- how can you communicate with the doctors or nurses? Yes, you can talk to a doctor or nurse who speaks your language- but what if there are none available? How will you explain your baby’s symptoms to the doctor? How will you understand the doctor’s medical advice- how much medicine to give to your baby, and how often?

There are so many ways to learn English without having to literally set foot in a classroom. You can read English magazines and books, and start with children’s books if needed be. You can watch American TV; again, start off with children’s programs if so desired. If something is truly important to a person, he or she will make time for it. People make time to take care of their kids; make time to go to work; make time to attend to normal daily routines. English is as important as any of these and people should make time to learn it.

I hope no one takes offense to what I’ve said. I’m not racist or prejudiced against people who can’t speak English. I think it’s important to maintain your heritage and culture, and not to lose your native language. I have the utmost respect for people who are multilingual and come from different cultures. At the same time, I strongly feel that it’s very important to learn the language of the country in which you live.