English isn't a dull or less expressive language. It's…
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English isn't a dull or less expressive language. It's just not your first/native language, or you had to learn it in school as a tool.
I see the take that English is a dull, empty language that is not as emotionally rich as others, and as someone who grew up with multiple languages in the home, with a polyglot family, it's always peeved me.
Anyone with a proficient grasp over the English language can tell you it is not dull. Even in slang it is not dull. This is not unique to the English language.
The only reason most people think English is dull is because for most people, they either learned it as a second or third language because they were made to or, if they are native speakers, never delved into it enough.
Of course, globally, you will not see English as anything more than a dull tool. You most likely did not choose it out of passion, and usually it is not the main language you think in, meaning you do not have an emotional connection to it. It was globally pushed as a utilitarian; it is not most people's passion.
For those who might bring up forced assimilation, or systems of oppression, I find that null and void. English is not the only language that has been forced on peoples. Anyone with a history book knows that. As someone who did prioritize learning English over my language of origin, it is also a bit insulting. You are telling me what I have put effort and sacrifice into learning is useless because of your personal interpretation, or the color of my skin.
People bring up the poetry of non-English languages as a "gotcha," but to me that just shows they have never read English poetry. How can one dismiss Dylan Thomas's "Do not go gentle in that good night," Sylvia Plath's "Lady Lazarus," Langston Hughes's "Poem," or even far older examples like John Donne's "The Flea"?
Indeed, I have read poetry in a non-English language, Arabic. It is beautiful, of course, but I feel the same way about Arabic that many of these people feel about English. It is dull to me, because my capacity to express myself exactly has been blunted. What is truly thought cannot be said at this point in my learning. It is the same way much of my non-English-speaking family feels about French too.
Yet no one would ever say Arabic is a dull language, nor French, because there is no such thing as a dull language. That is a prime indicator that the entire "English is a dull language" idea is based in being unaware. Of course English bores you; it is not the language of your heart and mind.
I am open to changing my perspective, but overall, I think it's not a good assessment of the English language.
#conversation
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I see the take that English is a dull, empty language that is not as emotionally rich as others, and as someone who grew up with multiple languages in the home, with a polyglot family, it's always peeved me.
Anyone with a proficient grasp over the English language can tell you it is not dull. Even in slang it is not dull. This is not unique to the English language.
The only reason most people think English is dull is because for most people, they either learned it as a second or third language because they were made to or, if they are native speakers, never delved into it enough.
Of course, globally, you will not see English as anything more than a dull tool. You most likely did not choose it out of passion, and usually it is not the main language you think in, meaning you do not have an emotional connection to it. It was globally pushed as a utilitarian; it is not most people's passion.
For those who might bring up forced assimilation, or systems of oppression, I find that null and void. English is not the only language that has been forced on peoples. Anyone with a history book knows that. As someone who did prioritize learning English over my language of origin, it is also a bit insulting. You are telling me what I have put effort and sacrifice into learning is useless because of your personal interpretation, or the color of my skin.
People bring up the poetry of non-English languages as a "gotcha," but to me that just shows they have never read English poetry. How can one dismiss Dylan Thomas's "Do not go gentle in that good night," Sylvia Plath's "Lady Lazarus," Langston Hughes's "Poem," or even far older examples like John Donne's "The Flea"?
Indeed, I have read poetry in a non-English language, Arabic. It is beautiful, of course, but I feel the same way about Arabic that many of these people feel about English. It is dull to me, because my capacity to express myself exactly has been blunted. What is truly thought cannot be said at this point in my learning. It is the same way much of my non-English-speaking family feels about French too.
Yet no one would ever say Arabic is a dull language, nor French, because there is no such thing as a dull language. That is a prime indicator that the entire "English is a dull language" idea is based in being unaware. Of course English bores you; it is not the language of your heart and mind.
I am open to changing my perspective, but overall, I think it's not a good assessment of the English language.
#conversation
source
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