we didn't start the fire

[swatkat]

I watched a horrible play yesterday. Do you realise how hard it is to giggle without actually making any noise? I want two and half hours of my life BACK.

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If you follow metafandom, you have probably already seen this, but if you don't, read deepad's post now: I Didn't Dream of Dragons. I found myself nodding along and simultaneously feel very grateful about my cultural background and think of my own bilingual angst, about which I will probably post something soon (when I have time to sit down and write).

Comments

[jaybee65.livejournal.com]

Somehow, I don't think you'd come across as emo. The more that thoughtful people like you take on these issues, the richer we all are for having new perspectives!

A good friend of mine is actually illiterate in his native language: thanks to the vagaries of postcolonial politics in his home country, he can *only* read and write in English. I was amazed when I learned that.

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

A good friend of mine is actually illiterate in his native language: thanks to the vagaries of postcolonial politics in his home country, he can *only* read and write in English. I was amazed when I learned that.

Um. I know people like that. Or people who can read or write in their mother tongue, but not very well. The other day I was telling roga, when she asked me about the languages I spoke and where I learnt English: I grew up bilingual. Most people from my background do. I also went to a English-medium school (and there's a whole class issue there which I won't go into now), so... Of course, because I come from a so-called 'culture conscious' family, my parents were very careful to ensure that I did not become one of Those People, who claim not to know their mother tongue very well. In our family, you make fun of Those People (Again, not going into the class issues involved here).

[jaybee65.livejournal.com]

Learning about this phenomenon was a revelation to me!

Now, my friend's situation is also complicated because he was an ethnic minority (Chinese in Malaysia), but that only highlights the complications of the colonial legacy even more.

The whole subject fascinates me.

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

Learning about this phenomenon was a revelation to me!

One of my favourite ways of teasing my friend A. is asking her the meaning of a random Bengali word. She often claims that we make them up (we do, at times, but not always).

It's not very funny when you think about it, though.

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

my parents were very careful to ensure that I did not become one of Those People, who claim not to know their mother tongue very well.

Heh, me and my siblings are Those People, while my uncles and aunts all made sure my cousins were completely bilingual. It's... interesting when we get together because you know there are some issues of cultural superiority at play. :P

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

It's... interesting when we get together because you know there are some issues of cultural superiority at play.

Guilty.

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

Somehow, I don't think you'd come across as emo.

And now that I think about it, I may not sound emo to you, but for a significant number of people in my country to whom my familiarity with the English language is something to aspire towards? Very much a privileged little girl complaining about how hard her life is, while reaping the benefits of the same.

[jaybee65.livejournal.com]

Point made. However, it seems to me that your awareness of some of the awkwardness inherent in your position is all the more reason why you ought to consider writing about it anyway.

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

Sigh. Yes. I have to get those thoughts out anyway. I hope to do it over the weekend.