I have recently watched a YouTube video in which two women dining in a fast-food restaurant said to the staff, "Go back to Mexico if you want to keep speaking Spanish” upon hearing the workers speaking Spanish to each other. The manager who heard the comment came out and protested in English. The women again said to him, “Go back to your Mexican country.” The manager was speaking English— actually, his English was grammatically impeccable and his lexical choice was a lot more sophisticated than those women's. The manager said to the women, “You are being disrespectful” and told them not to come back to his restaurant. I gave him a hearty cheer. This is just one example out of countless incidents like this. This is not just about language but also about race, national origin, etc. The issue is very complex, but at this point, I would like to find out what kinds of insulting remarks are being used against non-native speakers and how they might react to such insults. I would like to hear from anyone who has experienced or witnessed linguistic prejudice or language discrimination of this sort. (Warning: This exercise could raise your blood pressure. Please take a deep breath before responding.)
Flora Komlosi-Ferdinand Thank you for your contribution! I can totally relate to it. There is a book entitled "NON-NATIVE EDUCATORS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING” edited by George Braine (1999). I wrote a review. If you’re interested, I’ll send you a copy of my book review. People tend to think native-speaker (NS) teachers are better than non-native-speaker (NNS) teachers. But that’s a myth. Also, people generally think that NSs can teach their native language with little or no training in teaching the language. That’s another myth. NNS teachers can be better than their NS counterparts because they have learned the target language themselves and often come with more linguistic knowledge and training (e.g., TESOL degrees). So, they definitely deserve more recognition than what they normally get. But, as you pointed out, people are prejudiced against NNS teachers. We need more work like Braine’s. Once again, thank you!
I guess this is such a sensitive issue that no one wants to respond...
I have not experienced this personally, but DW Sue has written extensively on microaggressions & I'm sure that you could find many examples in his articles.
Rhianon Allen Thank you for your response. I was beginning to wonder if I had asked a question not viable for research. Again, thank you for your suggestion.
You are welcome. It is a very interesting topic. BTW, my husband experienced many times a very subtle linguistic microaggression. I am a Welsh speaker, and he is not (and he does not look Welsh either...much too Eastern European/Jewish in appearance). Welsh-speakers virtually always address him in English rather than Welsh, thus clearly marking him as an outsider. I have read many Twitter etc. complaints from people not of western European descent (i.e., Asian, African, MidEastern) that Welsh speakers assume that they are not Welsh, and code switch to English as a way of excluding them. This really hurts their feelings, as many of them do speak Welsh. I have observed the same thing in Austria, as when Austrians insist on speaking English to a person of African descent even though that person speaks fluent German and very little English. And a blonde friend fluent in Mandarin complains that when she visits China, people resist speaking normal fluid Mandarin to her. These examples are not as hostile as the one you provide, but they are still a way of saying "You don't belong here."
Rhianon Allen Thank you for those excellent examples! They illustrate well a subtle linguistic microaggression based on the speaker's appearance! Excellent examples! Thank you so much!
I am Hungarian and moved to Catalonia as an adult. I learnt Catalan perfectly, to this day (10 years since left Catalonia) I speak mostly Catalan at home. My 5 years in Catalonia was full of 'you should speak Spanish instead of Catalan' , 'why do you waste your time in such a small language?'... why.....? And this went on EVERY DAY. I just needed to leave...
Flora Komlosi-Ferdinand Thank you for your contribution! This is also an excellent example. You faced such a case of linguistic discrimination EVERY DAY! That's powerful. Their insulting remarks are simply incredible. Thank you for sharing!
The language choice can sometimes be to signal ones progressiveness. I was once in a meeting in Ecuador in which all speakers were fully fluent in English. A white woman from the USA insisted on speaking in Spanish, even though one of the Ecuadorians didn't speak Spanish well (he had spent most of his life in the USA). The issue here was that she felt that she should speak Spanish to Ecuadorians while in Ecuador, instead of speaking the language that was more easily understood. This highlights a strange contradiction sometimes among educated, progressive people. That they would not be language discriminatory in their own country (such as telling Latinos to speak English), but are often discriminatory in that they expect Anglophones to speak the native language when living in non-English speaking countries.
Graham Pluck Thank you for sharing such an interesting episode! As you pointed out, it is indeed a strange contradiction, but it well profiles a type of linguistic discrimination that is deeply rooted in people’s minds. The location or one’s NL/nationality should not determine which language to be spoken. But some people are so naive that they are clueless, which makes it difficult for those aware of the discrimination to deal with the situation. Similarly, linguistic discrimination is often so subtle that it’s hard to see until it manifests in a situation like this. Examining and discussing examples like this helps us learn more about linguistic discrimination. Once again, thanks for an excellent example!
My answer won't be popular, but I'm sure many will relate. 'NATIVESPEAKERISM'. A native speaker of English is always right... if you are not one of them, your education, teaching methods, shoe size, favourite ice-cream or even the original pronunciation of your name can be questioned and debated. You deserve less salary if you have 'an accent'. The horror: you do not speak exactly like him/her... and therefore you do not speak well. They will guess your accent and country of birth. A native speaker will be always available to point out things you actually didn't know about your own culture, or, at least you knew it wrong for so many years ;)
Of course, I do not generalize...many I know are different!!!
Flora Komlosi-Ferdinand Thank you for your contribution! I can totally relate to it. There is a book entitled "NON-NATIVE EDUCATORS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING” edited by George Braine (1999). I wrote a review. If you’re interested, I’ll send you a copy of my book review. People tend to think native-speaker (NS) teachers are better than non-native-speaker (NNS) teachers. But that’s a myth. Also, people generally think that NSs can teach their native language with little or no training in teaching the language. That’s another myth. NNS teachers can be better than their NS counterparts because they have learned the target language themselves and often come with more linguistic knowledge and training (e.g., TESOL degrees). So, they definitely deserve more recognition than what they normally get. But, as you pointed out, people are prejudiced against NNS teachers. We need more work like Braine’s. Once again, thank you!
Dear Tomoko, many thanks! Every word of yours is true! I'd be very, very intrested on your book review!
Flora Komlosi-Ferdinand Okay, I'll send you a copy to your RG Mailbox. Also, the book itself is available from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Non-native-Educators-English-Language-Teaching-ebook/dp/B00FQDH5JU/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=george+braine+non-native&qid=1600545976&sr=8-1
Thanks!
It just dawned on me. When I first came to the US 40+ years ago, I didn't speak English well enough to carry out a conversation without stumbles. I often got stuck, which resulted in silence. But my silence made a lot of Americans uncomfortable. If I had known such expressions as "Let me think," "Give me a few seconds," or "I can't think of the right word, " etc., I would have saved myself. But I didn't know those expressions back then. (No such textbooks existed. I later wrote textbooks to teach such expressions.) Because of my silence, I heard some folks say to me, "Say something!" in an irritated and accusatory tone. That really really hurt... People often talk about ethnic and racial prejudice/discrimination, but linguistic prejudice/discrimination/bias is also very real and could be pretty harsh.
I can very much relate to your experience, Tomoko! Also, sometimes I could not understand my American colleagues’ social-emotional responses, and I had no idea how to react, which was not necessarily well tolerated.
On the funnier side of the topic… I am Hungarian, but I look a mix of Slavic and Central Asian. I lived on-and-off 10 years in Central Asia, and people would very often address me in Russian. I speak a little bit of Russian, with rather good accent, but my knowledge is very limited. When people would start talking to me lengthily, or asking about things, I would reply in Russian, saying that I don’t speak the language. Almost everybody thought I was joking, and laughingly would continue in Russian, saying that I just wanted to trick them. This, by no means is discrimination, but similar daily reality happens to the Nepali community in Catalonia, where they are regularly taken for South Americans. If the newcomers don’t speak Spanish yet, that causes funny reactions.
Another cognitive trap: a friend used to have Spanish passport (mother’s side), but he cannot speak Spanish. Often, people categorically state and insist to him that he has Spanish accent when speaking English, just because of the passport. In fact, he has heavy Welsh accent! :)
Flora Komlosi-Ferdinand Great examples!
One's appearance can definitely influence people's perception of your language and trigger their linguistic bias. The following video depicts exactly that -- if you don't look Japanese, your Japanese (NL!) cannot even be understood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLt5qSm9U80
Your citizenship status can also influence people's perception of your language. The following conversation took place when I visited a traditional Japanese restaurant in the northern part of Japan. The restaurant owner (Lady) came to chat with me, and the following exchange took place in Japanese:
Lady: Where are you from?
Me: From California.
Lady: Oh... Are you an American?
Me: Technically speaking, I am because I am a US citizen.
Lady: Wow.! You speak Japanese so well!
Until I mentioned I had a US passport, she carried out a normal conversation in with me in my NL, Japanese, but she suddenly changed her attitude and thought my Japanese was too good once she found out that I'm a US citizen!
I have recently learned about an incident that took place at a press conference in Japan on August 28, 2020, which might be regarded as an example of (linguistic) discrimination. I may even label it as an example of microaggression or microinsult. News sources describe this incident as a "heated exchange" between Mr. Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ms. Magdalena Osumi, the spokesperson from Japan Times. During the press conference, Osumi, fluent in Japanese, had asked Motegi about controls that pertained exclusively to long-term foreign residents in Japan amid COVID-19, asking for the "scientific basis for introducing the controls." When Motegi didn't address her question about the science behind the restrictions, Osumi followed up again. Motegi then answered back in English: "What do you mean by scientific?” Osumi then said in Japanese, "You don't have to look down on me," to which Motegi said, "I'm not looking down on you.” The reporter, who is originally from Poland, asked Motegi to answer in Japanese as he would with any other Japanese reporter — “I’m asking you in Japanese, so please answer in Japanese.” Motegi then said in Japanese, "The Immigration Services Agency has jurisdiction over this issue, so please ask them. Did you understand? Did you understand my Japanese?” This story seems to render at least two examples of language discrimination or microinsult: (1) Motegi's code-switching to English when the reporter was asking a question in Japanese, and (2) Motegi’s question to the reporter “Do you understand my Japanese?” It’s also an example of discrimination in general. I’m sure the reporter’s (non-Japanese) appearance contributed to this discriminatory conduct by Motegi. I also think that gender might have played a role.
The episode I introduced a couple of days ago is also discussed in a recent article by Benio Suzuki, which I have found excellent -- Suzuki (2020) incorporated it into an ESL lesson plan. This is what we should be doing!
Thank you very much for your comment, Prof. Takahashi. I'm hoping to incorporate such political discourse (interaction) that is available to anyone into the language curriculum to raise intercultural pragmatic awareness.
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