Saturday, May 13, 2006

ESL or not? Matters Not

I first heard the term ESL when I joined a mostly-American online writing community three years ago. One day while chatting one of my (American) friends from the board remarked, "Your English is very good for an ESL." I had to ask her to translate the mysterious abbreviation for me, and only when she told me it was English Second Language, did I understand the full import of her compliment. Subsequently, I received praise for my grasp of English from a lot of board members. As much as I appreciated their kind words, I didn't let it all get to my head. For, I still stood hapless and flustered when it came to deciphering everyday American-speak.

After spending about a year with this accommodating community, I joined another writing group--this time a British one. Here, I was reminded of my ESL identity once again. This time though, the compliments were more backhanded than those of the American writing board. As a member of a critique group in the new community, I was required to submit a new short story every month and review the ones submitted by other members. On more than one occasion, my stories would get such notes as "I found the sentence structure a bit awkward. I know it's difficult to tackle that, and given your ESL background, it was a good effort." I swallowed the remarks since my primary focus was to improve my writing. But now that I can share it with you, let me vent a bit on that perception. No, those views didn't hurt me. They angered me.

Such a perception made me angry not because I think too highly of my English proficiency. Far from that. As far as I am concerned, learning--especially that related to writing--is a lifelong endeavour. The idea of me being an ESL, and therefore, only the second best ruffled my nerves because of the sympathetic undertone to it. Yes, English is not my first language. So what? Should that make editors take a lenient approach while reading my work? NO! When I am writing in a given language, I should be rated alongside all others who write in that language, regardless of whether they speak that in their daily lives or not.

For the record, I studied British English in school. The legacy of our colonial rulers is still in place as far as India's education system is concerned. English happens to be the language of instruction in a lot of schools (including mine) here. So I am not a latecomer to the learn-English club. I started scribbling A, B, C as a toddler, just like any American or British would. Therefore, if I am to be credited for a reasonably okay grasp of the language, I should also be the one to take the onus for any slips and slides I make.

At the same time, readers need to be conscious of what to expect from writers of different geographical backgrounds. As an Indian, whose first language isn't English, I am not likely to use it like an American, British, or Australian (or those whose native tongue is English) would. Just like the language itself, the slang that cultures using English as their first language have made up, are foreign to me. If my Indian characters start speaking like that, my story will end up being a ridiculously phony disaster. You won't even buy into the characters, would you? Another point that comes to mind is when I write about rural Indians, I am mostly translating their words into English. For, they would never speak in English; most don't know the language apart from some basic words. All these factor into my writing of this immensely universal language.

Are those points excuses for making weak prose acceptable to the Western audience? Never. More than one non-native, or should I say ESL, writer has proved how much English belongs to the whole world and not just to pockets where people speak it.

Want proof?

1. Amitav Ghosh
2. Joseph Conrad
3. Salman Rushdie
4. Ayn Rand
5. Rohinton Mistry
6. Arundhati Roy
7. Vikram Seth

I am sure there are more. And the world of words is only richer because of them.






9 comments:

  1. When I was in college, I used to work at the ESL writing lab where I would work one on one and sometimes teach classes of ESL students who were at all levels of learning English, to people who were just starting to people like you who have mastered the language.

    I used to get so jealous of people like you, who could speak two or more languages. When it comes to writing creatively, my ESL students--even the ones who weren't yet that good in English--always wrote with such a fresh perspective, and they always described things in a really interesting, compelling way. I see the same thing here in how you write.

    I would never think the fact English is your second language is a problem. It can only be an asset.

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  2. Another name that comes to mind is: Jhumpa Lahiri. Although its debatable whether she herself is ESL or not, but I thought most of her characters spoke a different kind of English altogether.

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  3. HOw about Isabel Allende or is her work mostly translated from Spanish?

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  4. Matt, your kind words overwhelmed me; I am not that good, honestly. I never thought knowing three languages could be an advantage, until American friends like yourself pointed that out to me. I agree with you there. As for the freshness you see in ESL writing; it's what we see in yours. That is why English is such a wonderful vehicle for cultural exchange.

    Esther, many thanks for the compliment. It put a wide grin and a slight blush on my face :P.

    Yoda, Jhumpa Lahiri's name did come to my mind, but she was born in London and grew up in the U.S. I am not sure if English was a second language for her, in the strict sense of the concept. She did make frequent trips to India, however, and that possibly explains the way some of her characters speak. I really liked her style in "Interpreter of Maladies."

    Bernita, isn't that so true? So often we see how preconceived prejudices can colour judgments. Thanks so much for your appreciation. They mean a lot to this ESL writer. Lol, just joking :).

    Lotus, Allende is one of my favourite writers! Yes, she writes in Spanish like so many of the remarkable Latin American writers.

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  5. Hi Bhas,
    When I first read Jhumpa Lahiri, I felt she had lived in Britain or had connections with the UK in everyday living without knowing anything about her life, and indeed at the end of the day, she did have early roots and sometimes even this, I've noticed amongst people makes an extraordinary difference.
    You speak beautiful English and having lived in London in the last years, believe me, Bhas, yours is soooooo British...
    love

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  6. Bhaswati, pay no heed to those who criticize. Learn and forge ahead. Those of us who are labeled with ESL often understand the language better and have a clearer understanding than those who are not ESL. You will never make the mistake of saying: "She was laying by me." or "That boutique is ran by my friend." Never lay but lie; always, "run, ran, run." OK, so I got to vent some pet peeves, thanks to you!!

    When we moved to Colorado from Illinois, my daughter was called in by the Literacy Dept of the Boulder Valley School District for evaluation because...yes, she was considered ESL. I was quite upset because they did not acknowledge nor review her past school records. If they had, they would have known she was reading and comprehending well above grade level. When she was tested, she scored a 5/5 in every section. And, where native English speakers are given a default proficiency level of 90, she scored at least 99. Phooey to ESL. If anything, ESL's speak better English!

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  7. Yes, I certainly understand anger at being patronized.

    I see proficiency in more than one langauge as a source of strength. It allows one to blend the colors and souls of different constructs. The wedding of the two is greater than either one alone.

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  8. Excellent post. I can totally understand the feeling of being patronized. I'd be angry too.

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  9. Benjamin, thanks for dropping by and showing support :)

    Manisha, I can see why you should be upset. That's so typical of bureaucracy--plans to make things transparent and easy always end up being the other way round. All said and done, the approach does smack of discrimination. I can see why Indian parents or those from other non-English-speaking countries would avoid mentioning their native langauges in the forms. Sad, really.

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