English alone insufficient to work as lingua franca

For the last few weeks I had some friends from Norway visiting me, and their presence reminded me that having English as your first language can make you lazy.

I met my friend Ellinor when I went to Montreal on a university exchange.

We lived together in a city where almost everyone could speak more than one language, and in our flat alone we covered English, Norwegian, and French.

When I first moved into the flat there were two Norwegians, and I remember being really impressed that they would sacrifice having a home where they could speak entirely in their first language in order to give me a place to stay.

Furthermore, I couldn't believe that on top of accommodating my language needs they would actually apologise for not being completely fluent, when I can barely muster a single sentence in Norwegian.

If English is your first language you tend to assume it will just be enough no matter what situation you find yourself in.

Even though I have studied French since I was in high school and have a university qualification in it, I still don't really think of it as being a practical communication tool.

And, I sometimes feel like one extra language that I almost never use is all my brain can handle.

Living in Montreal opened my eyes to the number of ways people can communicate.

It was amazing to see people out for coffee having an engaged conversation, with one person speaking French and the other English.

While Canada has less than perfect multicultural relations, it was still important for me to realise that we have the capacity to be so much better at communicating, even when we're not travelling.

It seems particularly pertinent in a country like New Zealand, where English is not the only language we could or should be communicating in.

English speakers are so absurdly privileged in the global community we become actively resistant to speaking on anyone else's terms.

This is so obvious in New Zealand when anyone brings up children learning to speak te reo in schools.

We are perfectly happy for children in schools all over the world to have English as a compulsory class, but when it comes to having compulsory language classes in English-speaking schools people are suddenly outraged.

It is as though the idea of expanding your capacity to live alongside other people is a violation of your rights, as though English is the standard for getting by in the world and everything else is just an imposition.

I feel ashamed by how limited my language skills are, in te reo and in French, a language I am often too shy to speak, even around people who are making a huge effort to speak my first language.

But being ashamed isn't enough.

I have taken one small step towards broadening my horizons.

I have downloaded a language application and now I spend all of my downtime quizzing myself on definite articles and the present participle.

Learning a language has only positive outcomes.

It's supposed to be good for your memory, and connecting with a wider variety of people is only going to make your life better.

I don't want to think that English is the best way to be a part of the world any more; I don't want to encourage cultural hegemony and Western colonialism.

I know that I don't have to be fluent in every language, but I do want to make the biggest possible effort I can when I am travelling and when I am in New Zealand.

Ultimately, I want to acknowledge that my way of communicating is not the only way.

●Millie Lovelock is a Dunedin student.

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