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| Diana Lalata Class of 2017 |
"English is quickly becoming the world's lingua franca," stated my linguistics professor in my History of the English Language class this past spring. A "lingua franca" is defined as a language that is widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages. Although past languages have battled for the privilege of serving as the world’s lingua franca, progressive academics in the linguistics field have aspired to create a new language which fuses multiple languages together and uses a new set of grammar rules. There are arguments for and against English as the "world language," yet most linguists can agree that the English language is rising in the ranks of international usage. From my own travels throughout China, I found this observation not only true, but also extremely interesting, as I saw both the benefits and burdens of the spread of English.
Upon my arrival to the Xi’an Xianyang International Airport, I was pleasantly surprised to be met with so many English accommodations: translations written under Chinese characters, the announcements over the airport loudspeaker spoken in English quickly after the Chinese remarks, and even the student guide scheduled to pick me up stood waiting with a sign written in English (Welcome to China!). Eric, a student at Xi'an International Studies University (XISU), spoke proficient English, which I quickly found was common among the students at XISU and Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU). The students knew more English (and other languages such as Albanian, Bulgarian, Icelandic, Italian, Swedish, and more!) than I would have ever imagined. I found it easy to communicate with our student guides, yet the convenience of English began to feel unfair. Throughout the trip, I questioned the one-way relationship of using English as the main language to communicate without even attempting to learn the native language of the country in which I was visiting.
Feeling both entitled and embarrassed, I made a commitment to try to learn more Chinese and to not simply expect people to know English, as was not always the case. When speaking with our student guides from XISU and BFSU, I channeled my language curiosity and constantly asked for Chinese translations of certain English words and phrases for future reference. Our student guides were ecstatic to help me learn their language, even correcting my pronunciation and prompting me to speak in Chinese whenever I could. Our conversations proved to be mutually beneficial as they were so much more engaging with both parties holding the opportunity to learn about one another's language and culture.
Alongside learning common phrases to use in daily life, my new local friends shared other fun facts about the Chinese language. One fact that I found quite interesting was that because the Chinese language relies so heavily on intonation, one wrongly expressed tone or misplaced accent on a word could completely change the entire meaning of a sentence. The Chinese writing system was just as captivating, as I learned that each symbol holds a specific meaning, and when strung together, the phrase creates a poetic masterpiece. Some phrases, or Chinese proverbs, are memorized at an early age to help students learn the meaning of certain characters in a more creative way. These proverbs are quotes of wisdom that the student guides are still able to write and recite even years after learning the phrases more than a decade ago. I found the Chinese language just as fascinating as the English language, and wished that I had only made a greater effort to learn the intricacies of their language as much as it was natural to learn English in China.
Although it may be true that English is slowly becoming the most common second language to learn, especially with the spread of American media and the necessity of English within business and politics, I only find it fitting to make an effort to view the spread of the English language as an opportunity to create a mutually beneficial relationship of language exchange instead of expecting the convenience of English as a "lingua franca." When traveling, it can be easy to resort to using English as the only means of communication, but I know that both the challenge and reward lies in learning another language other than my native tongue.
Diana Lalata is a senior McConnell Scholar studying political science and English at the University of Louisville.