Speaking Imperialistically

English is an efficient language and one that works and adapts pretty well. I'm sure, however, that's it's not innately superior to any other or simply the greatest language of all humankind, as the first episode of The Story of English Language explains.  The show seems interesting and historically enriching, as the second episode showed me later, but I found the introduction just pompous and imperialistic. The pilot ends with a clichéd speech on the importance of English and then mentions all that can be studied from it, including statements like that English is the language that has been taught the most throughout history, in a proud tone. The narrator says that English is a language that Indians and Africans long for, and that it is the perfect lingua franca. In one point an African man says, "So we want to make a living and that means we have to learn English." The show makes it seem as if there was an instinctive desire for the English language, the only one that can lead to prosperity to the point where the narrator even says that it is not "coming from above."There are definitely many benefits to using or learning English but these are merely because of the current situation of a world devastated by two centuries of anglophone imperialism. The Story of English Language is certainly right when saying that English can be useful in some situation and good for people looking for a job in the former parts of the British Empire, but I believe it is like that because our world is built around an English-speaking society. Modern means America or Europe. Development is following such traditions. English works well in the American world because a language comes tied with its social influences, the social influences colonialism makes us crave. 

As the narrator explained all the benefits that come from learning English in Africa, I remembered Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's essay we read in class about imperialism, "Decolonising the Mind". The personal essay narrates the author's experiences while growing up in British-ruled Kenya as he shows how imperialism invaded people's way of thinking making Britain and the British style what everybody wanted and simply knowing English a requirement for success. In one point the author writes that for a student to do well academically and be admitted to good schools, Kenyans had to do very well in their English exams or otherwise fail, even if they were amazing at other things. The Story of English Language shows this scenario at a bigger glance. Nowadays people are not forced to learn English necessarily but the remains of imperialism still infiltrate people's minds and make them look up to Europe and the US. The show makes a good point when saying the English is a good lingua franca, but I do not think that it is because the greatness of the language or because it means progress. English is a good lingua franca because the post-colonial societies were left to only work with dependance to Europe. India, Pakistan and many African countries were not made to accommodate people's origins and cultures so that they could progress in their own way. Former British colonies turned into countries made to be incompatible within their own cultures. India did not chose English because it had discovered an element of enlightenment and progress but because Britain left no other option. After centuries of having English-speaking empires, colonies were left with no option than to work the way "civilized" Anglo-Saxons did. People living under imperialism are made to think that their colonizer is better. 

The writer of The Story of English probably doesn't mean to harm or offend anybody, but rather, as part of an imperialistic system, was showing his or her vision of the world. I am, as is everyone who I interact with daily, a product of American imperialism. For my society it is seemed as a good thing to study under and American system and know English. It's not only a great skill for work but also a backup solution in case I get tired of Colombia and the third world. In my family's case, I know how importance language is for imperialism because of my ancestors' stories during the American colonization of Puerto Rico. As soon as America won the Spanish American War, Puerto Rico was flooded with missionaries and government workers set to "educate" the islanders. A lot of schools, both religious and public, were founded for the purpose of helping the island progress. That meant starting the first university, teaching sciences and humanities but for the most just making sure that everyone knew English. One of my great-grandmothers, who easily got a nurse job for a while without any kind of medical preparation, was fluent in English and therefore could do well in terms of jobs. My great-grandfather actually wrote and read better in English than in Spanish, even though he wouldn't visit the US until he was an adult. Even in the present people in Puerto Rico struggle because of the infiltration language does on their minds. Some years ago a mayor changed the name of a town to Guaynabo City, as he changed road sings to be in English, all leads of development. 

I found the first episode of this series actually amusing and mostly accurate but I do want to note that it is made in an imperialistic point of view. English does have benefits as improving communication in airplanes and even serving as a lingua franca for former colonies, but it is not because it has a supreme innate way of being. English is all around the world because imperialism made it get into everyone's mind and make it become a sign of progress. 

Source:

"An English Speaking World." The Story of English. Wrti. Robert MacNeil, Robert McCrum and William Cran. MacNeil-Lehrer Productions and BBC, 1986. Youtube.