If you have ever been treated poorly by a person who was trying to learn English who seemed to care more about using you as an opportunity than speaking to you as a human being... PLEASE READ ON!
If you are a native or highly-abled English speaker who is planning to live in another country and learn the language there, PLEASE READ ON FOR A VERY IMPORTANT WARNING!
Statement of Solidarity Against English Bandits World-Wide
first version
PREAMBLE:
Due to various historical circumstances, The English language has become the de facto lingua franca of international business, science, technology, aviation, and even a sort of general global lingua franca. While this has been a considerable boon for native English speakers wishing to travel or do business throughout the world, this advantage has not come without a certain associated cost.
A silent minority amongst us, interested, willing, or ever dedicated to learning another language has been subject, often through no fault of our own, to considerable mistreatment at the hands of a certain subset of the world's population which will here forth be referred to as ENGLISH BANDITS. These are people who, like highway robbers or professional con-artists, see us as targets, not fellow humans or potential friends, in possession of something they want and are willing to pursue whatever means necessary to obtain. They have taken advantage of social norms that can make us feel uncomfortable or even wrong for being unhappy about their advances; after all, they are just talking to us, is it such a big deal? But being imposed upon can become a big deal when a large enough number of people are doing it to such an extent that in the long term it really does have a significant adverse affect on our lives.
Those who laugh or think trivial the notion of "English Banditry", in many cases due to lack of first-hand experience, do not understand that the very reason it is such a big deal is because it is often so subtle. While a direct person may have no hesitation in walking away from a stranger who approaches on the street and proceeds to flaunt his English, there are a number of other circumstances in which English Bandits are much harder to detect or avoid.
Some students spend years in another country trying very hard to learn the language and ultimately fail in doing so, in part, due to the mischief of English Bandits. These poor students make friends with English-speaking locals, thinking friendship with natives is an essential part of knowing a country, only to realize in retrospect, months or even years later when they have studied enough to gain a solid grounding in the language of the land, that the unwillingness of the "good friends" he or she met to give the student any chance to use the local language was not so much due specifically to his or her lack of proficiency in it, but more owing to the fact that the fraudulent "friendship" was based primarily on the English speaker giving the English learner an opportunity to use English. Some amongst these students are so kind-hearted as to never realize that they have been taken advantage of.
Other insidious English Bandit problems may occur in a workplace, school, or home-stay environment where an English speaker may feel obligate to oblige the demands of others to speak English in order to build good relationships with people he will have to deal with on a daily basis. This can be especially difficult to face as a foreigner in a workplace in which all coworkers are ethnocentrically minded locals who have no conception of what it is like to be in the English speaker's shoes.
Some find themselves in an intimate relationships with a partner whose liking of the English speaker is in actuality based in whole or in part on a foreign-fetish and the fact that the English speaker provides them with an opportunity to use English. These poor souls are often so emotionally involved by the time that they start to notice what is going on that they will make any excuse for the significant other's unwillingness to allow them to use the local language with him/her. Sometimes the English speaker is equally at fault, but the situation is insidious because the English speaker may have entered the relationship with too little language ability to realize that the use of English would later, after he/she gained more ability in the local language, be revealed as a necessary condition to being together.
The last type of challenging situation is one in which an English speaker encounters an English Bandit when he or she is neither in a position to walk away or use avoidance techniques nor to explain his feelings, such as when ordering once already seated in a restaurant. This is frustrating because the English speaker is often left with the choice of accepting and giving validation to the English Bandit's frame, which may embody unwelcome demeaning or insulting racial or cultural stereotypes or insinuations, or making a public spectacle of himself/herself by resisting in some manner.
Finally, in hugely homogenous cultures it is also possible that the issue of a dominant cultural psychological frame comes into play and the English speaker is lead unconsciously or semi-consciously to the self-contradictory conclusion that he or she "owes it to them", be it due to their poverty, ostensible enthusiasm for learning the language, or the world-wide prevalence of English, to speak in English while no one owes him or her any bit of the local language in return. This is obviously treacherously unfair and such persons should know they are not alone, and as victims, they should never blame themselves or justify the way they are treated.
WE ARE ENGLISH SPEAKERS, and like it or not, this accident of fate has imposed a great cost on those of us who unwittingly have gone out into the world in possession of a value which some would pursue any avenue, dishonest, uncaring, forcefully, or otherwise to obtain. We cannot be faulted for this anymore than can a person born of a certain race be somehow faulted for war aggressions of others of the same race. We cannot burden ourselves with unfair obligations which leave us owing it to "humor" anyone in the world wanting to make us into English target practice. We should not and must not accept being subject to condemnation for rejecting people who want to practice their English when native speakers of other languages (for example in a immigrant country like America or Canada) are not condemned for doing so indignantly when approached by a stranger or obvious opportunist in their respective mother tongues. We have a right to be offended by the racist insistence (for example in Asia for one not of Asian race) that owing to our different skin color we must speak in English and respond to English rather than the national or local language of the country we are in. That is to say that we have a right to be treated with the same courtesy and respect that any random stranger on the street would receive, or to demand unyieldingly that we do receive it in cases in which we do not.STATEMENT OF INTENT:
For the sake of my own well being and the development of my own abilities to communicate in a foreign language;
For the sake of the well being of English speakers who come after me and will be approached with expectations set in part by my own behavior;
For the sake of the true and genuine friends I might never met if I sacrifice my limited time in a foreign land for the benefit of English Bandits;
And to assure that there is justice in the world and those who seek to profit by acting in dishonest, rude, forceful, abusive, or otherwise unacceptable ways which cause others discomfort do not benefit from their actions,
I hereby promise to give sincere consideration to and then act upon my best understanding of the following statements from this day forth:
CONDITIONS:
I swear to never give sanction to nor act in any way which gives credence to the notion that I am somehow obligated or owe it to the world to teach English to strangers or any persons who are not dear personal friends by mere virtue of the fact that said person has chosen to impose himself or herself on me.
I swear to never make irrational justifications for the way in which English Bandits treat me. A phony smile with blunt refusal to speak with me in any language except English is never and can never be the way a person with a genuine interest in being friends would act.
I swear for the sake of my own integrity that I will not apply double standards nor allow double standards to be applied to me when considering any arguments about the use of English with people wishing to practice them. Any "ought" which is applied to me and the use of English with others must accompany a reciprocal "ought" on the part of opposite party for their respective language if they were in my exact situation.
I swear that I will not react amiably or in any way which can be perceived as showing approval or tolerance to the advances of English Bandits. A positive response to inappropriate behavior means the next English speaker will face stronger, more unyielding approaches. Although certain responses may not be appropriate for all situations, surely there is a wide enough range of negative responses available that a suitable one can be found for any situation in which an English Bandit approaches.
These might include: not responding at all, politely explaining your unwillingness to speak English or why you think the person is acting rudely, explaining that you have signed this agreement, responding cordially but only in the local language, or simply walking away.
I promise to keep in mind the simple and abundantly true fact that if I am approached by a stranger, or for that matter anyone, in a country in which I am reasonably proficient at speaking the national language, there is no legitimate reason whatsoever why the transaction in its entirety cannot and should not occur in that language, nor is there any reason for me to tolerate the intrusion on my personal space and time if the person is insistent on trying to force me to do otherwise.
I promise to keep in mind that a portion English Bandits are seeking to improve their English ability for reasons which should make me feel disinclined to help them under ANY circumstances. Though some people make the claim that refusing to humor someone and speak to them in English is somehow "selfish":
- The idea is hardly sensible if you encounter English Bandits who are seeking to improve their ability only so that they can earn more money—an equally "selfish" pursuit. Such money-seeking persons should be willing to use money to pay for proper lessons the same as your professors likely felt no obligation to put you through college for free.
- The idea also makes little sense when many English Bandits lack any legitimate interest in learning the language for its own intrinsic artistic or aesthetic value or to establish friendships. If such persons were honest in their claim that they are learning it to seek friendship, they should see your knowledge of their own language, to any degree, as an asset to the friendship and not a threat or source of discomfort. If they were honest about their interest in the language itself, they should not be so ignorant to ignore the possibility that your very presence in a non-English speaking country might indicate that you do not share their particular interest in English.
(If I am learning another language for
non-utilitarian purposes):
I promise to keep in mind that there
is a considerable difference between being an English speaker
and showing enthusiasm to those learning my language
and speakers of non-lingua franca languages showing enthusiasm
to you learning theirs. In such cases you chose their language
amongst hundreds of others for something about it which
intrinsically appealed to you. You care about their language
independent of external conditions. When they took up English
they most likely did not do so because they decide it had any
intrinsic value or beauty but merely by virtue of the accidental
fact that it has gained linga franca status world-wide. Because
of this, you have absolutely no reason to be flattered or even
enthusiastic about their interest, as it is categorically
dissimilar to your interest in their language.
I promise to help increase awareness of English Banditry by referring any friends to whom this is relevant to this page or talking about the issue with them. If we all face these devils together and show that we aren't going to put up with the abuse, they will have no choice but to crawl back up in the dark holes from which they came and die.
ADDITIONAL SELF-CRITICAL CONSIDERATIONS:
I swear to never myself partake in "English Bandit"-like activities when learning a foreign language. If I am in a country in which a particular language is spoken, I needn't make any excuse for speaking or using it at any time. If, however, I meet a speaker of the language I am learning in a country in which it is not spoken, I will respect the speaker and treat him in the way I myself would prefer to be treated.
I swear to never condemn anyone who is making an inordinate and determined effort to face the challenge of mastering a foreign language. People who go to a country with the sole purpose of learning a language and refuse to speak in any other language, even with native speakers of their own native language, are often condemned. This is unfair because in any other domain such as scholarship, athletic training, or musicianship such intensive effort is generally praised as virtuous.
I hereby swear that I have read the above statement in its entirety and wish to show my solidarity with the cause by digitally signing my name:
(Your email address will only be used to send a single confirmation e-mail. When you click the link in the email you digital signature will be "confirmed" as belonging to a real person with a real email box. Your email address will not be revealed to the public. If you are more comfortable using an alias or initials, feel free to do so. Preferably you can add text which identifies your geographic location. For example: Terry M. of Ottawa.)
Total Signatures to Date = 41
NOTE: I am more than happy to hear any comments about the above statement. If I get any especially good comments, I hope to add them to this site. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any sort of suggestions by going to the contact page on my blog. Please help increase awareness of English Banditry and reduce the frustration it causes for English speakers by forwarding this to any friends you have that may travel to another country to learn a language or posting the URL to this page on relevant forums and blogs. THANK YOU.