English or no English?

English is the most spoken language of the world. Next comes Spanish and then Chinese comes in the third place. We never doubt the importance of English as a language of communication partly due to the fact that we grew up in a colonial city. Learning English is core to our learning at school, from infancy through university or even after graduation though it does generate a lot of pleasure and fun to me. English connects me to the rest of the world as well as to other people whom I would have imagined knowing without my knowledge of English.

However, what I have experienced in Europe tells me perhaps this might not be the case. Do we need English? Remember meeting Alejandro’s friends for over 5 years, the majority of them (quite a handful of them) do not speak English (though they did receive a few years of English lessons at school). It totally surprised me. I always wondered why they never picked up English even though after I have known them for over five years. Honestly, I was thinking of this from an English perspective. Now I cannot help asking myself, ‘why do they need to speak English in Europe?’ Yes, in Europe, not in any part of the world.

Europeans are in general adept at languages, like Singaporeans and Malaysians who normally master a few. People usually speak a few languages due to their family background, usually with the exception of English (except Dutch and also the Scandinavians who speak fluent English). In the case of Italy, all the TV programs or even movies are all dubbed in local language. Imagine living and working in Europe, you probably need French and perhaps German or Spanish if you cover these markets. They all communicate perfectly well with each other. There seems to be no place for English to expand as much as other European languages though English is always claimed to be the language of international business. However, considering the market size, Europe is quite huge given some developing countries in Eastern Europe whereas for the US, it is always about expansion and domination of the world, perhaps through languages and the globalization of a lot of US corporations. McDonald’s and Starbucks are perfect examples.

The dominance of language can be transferred into the dominance of the culture at different levels though language is meant for communication after all. Growing up and living in Hong Kong, as the colonial generation, perhaps we have subconsciously internalized the language issue because English always comes before Chinese though I would not deny the fact that fluency in English can always guarantee you better prospects, at least a good job with good money (according to my experience, fluent English is always essential in impressing your interviewers, definitely for our generation though maybe not that much now after the handover). In saying so, I do not mean it is either good or bad. This is simply the way it is, as a matter of fact.

Language learning is always an enjoyable experience simply because it is one of the best ways to understand more about other cultures. To tell you the truth, I just enjoy learning a few phrases in various languages. It surely impresses a lot of people upon your encounter with them. And why not? It is like ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’

Written on 11 August 2005 in Tucson, AZ