An Estonian friend, Silver, once shared his invented concept of gastronomic dualism to make a point in class. We can study theoretical aspects of eating all we want, but it will never make us feel full. Studying something academically will always be different than experiencing that something. When I came to Tartu, living in an enormous dorm filled with people from all over, plus being the only native English speaker among the group of Master's students in my year, I experienced a piece of this power imbalance on the ground level. To my surprise, it manifested in a relation between linguistic and social aspects of student life. Sadly, I'm not sure if I would have recognized this relation without the help of two good friends with keener eyes and different experiences than I, because as a native English speaker, I had it pretty easy.
Early on, Krraka invented two important concepts:
- "Cultural harrassment" - The persistent advances made by non-native English speakers to hang out with native English speakers to improve their English. This can result in a number of negative effects on the native English speakers, such as social exhaustion, or delusions of grandeur.
- What I will call here "the English effect" - When a native English speaker is saying something mediocre, boring, unhelpful, or even incoherent, but because of their perfect English, has an alluring effect on non-native speakers, easily leading them to false conclusions of their intelligence, charm, and other positive, valued aspects of personality.
Later, another close friend shared with me a conclusion that she and a friend from her own culture made in a discussion of social status in Tartu. Before I list them I want to mention that I consider social status as something measured by recognition (being influenced by semiotics). Recognition happens in different ways - saying hello to a person, smiling at them, approaching them, asking them for help or advice, learning about them, opening up to them, acknowledging their identity in any way, etc. Therefore the assumption is that the degree of recognition (in terms of how many people recognize someone and how deeply this recognition goes) is an indication of their social status. Of course, we could argue that recognition can manifest negatively, such as in a social outcast or scapegoat. But that is a rare case and I haven't encountered that here.
The conclusion that my friend came to is that there are two major variables that contribute to increasing social status here: good English and being European. Of course, this is a simplification and there are many exceptions, because there are obviously more variables at work than these two alone, and not all the same variables affect everyone in the same way - English competency and being European may not even be remotely influential for some people(s) here. I haven't put much thought or observation into the European aspect, but I included it as food for thought for any interested readers.
The linguistic aspect is just a general influence that others and I have observed not only socially in that those with good English appear to gain recognition more easily and quickly, but psychologically in that it is often internalized by both sides. While people with these advantages are less conscious of this power imbalance, it seems self-evident that more social recognition could reinforce higher self-confidence, cyclically reinforcing a higher social status (everyone knows how effective self-confidence is socially). [Exceptions come to mind here already though, as not everyone enjoys a lot of social recognition, many are most comfortable with a certain limited/balanced amount, and some even react adversely to it]. On the other hand, those non-native speakers who think that their English is not up to par often feel generally embarrassed about this fact, especially when talking to native speakers. In fact, I've been told that being nervous about one's English-speaking makes it even more difficult to speak it, becoming a vicious cycle of inadequacy and causing them to withdraw and make less of an effort to socialize. Thus, this internalization only reinforces lesser visibility. It was almost impossible to convince my friend (who was afraid of approaching an American friend of mine) that we pay very little attention to English mistakes and see nothing embarrassing or shameful about them - in fact, we enjoy accents and different ways of saying things.
These issues may be stronger during an initial phase of getting acquainted, and might fade a bit as people get to know each other over time and feel more comfortable opening up. However, I don't think they disappear completely, and I think that those who have such advantages should try to be more conscious of this power imbalance (it's easy not to recognize if it's not a problem for you). One thing I learned to do early on is always speak clearly and bit slower (especially in class when people don't have the opportunity to stop you as easily). It also helps to be approachable and welcoming by recognizing others - say hello, make the first move and initiate some small talk every once in awhile. If you're like me and you like to be alone and keep to yourself often, be aware that this could be misinterpreted and internalized by someone else in a totally different way.
I also think that those who feel invisible because they don't have such advantages should try to understand that most native English speakers don't get what it is like to feel generally unconfident or embarrassed due to language proficiency (unless they've had a corresponding experience themselves). If it seems like they disapprove of your English skills because they aren't saying hello or indicating they want to talk to you, they are just shy or clueless and it has nothing to do with your language abilities. It might get a bit tiring trying to communicate, but we are never blaming the non-native speaker for not trying hard enough at learning English in school - many Americans feel inadequate because we aren't forced to learn second and third languages from elementary school on, and therefore we don't feel like we are in a position to judge your second/third/fourth language. We think you're the impressive ones for being multilingual, and we pay almost no attention to your mistakes. If we do notice them, we never connect them to you as a person, though we're happy to help you improve your English if you like. Therefore, if you want to, don't be afraid to make the first move and say hello either, even if we have a stony, lifeless default face (I've been told this is mine). :-)
The linguistic aspect is just a general influence that others and I have observed not only socially in that those with good English appear to gain recognition more easily and quickly, but psychologically in that it is often internalized by both sides. While people with these advantages are less conscious of this power imbalance, it seems self-evident that more social recognition could reinforce higher self-confidence, cyclically reinforcing a higher social status (everyone knows how effective self-confidence is socially). [Exceptions come to mind here already though, as not everyone enjoys a lot of social recognition, many are most comfortable with a certain limited/balanced amount, and some even react adversely to it]. On the other hand, those non-native speakers who think that their English is not up to par often feel generally embarrassed about this fact, especially when talking to native speakers. In fact, I've been told that being nervous about one's English-speaking makes it even more difficult to speak it, becoming a vicious cycle of inadequacy and causing them to withdraw and make less of an effort to socialize. Thus, this internalization only reinforces lesser visibility. It was almost impossible to convince my friend (who was afraid of approaching an American friend of mine) that we pay very little attention to English mistakes and see nothing embarrassing or shameful about them - in fact, we enjoy accents and different ways of saying things.
These issues may be stronger during an initial phase of getting acquainted, and might fade a bit as people get to know each other over time and feel more comfortable opening up. However, I don't think they disappear completely, and I think that those who have such advantages should try to be more conscious of this power imbalance (it's easy not to recognize if it's not a problem for you). One thing I learned to do early on is always speak clearly and bit slower (especially in class when people don't have the opportunity to stop you as easily). It also helps to be approachable and welcoming by recognizing others - say hello, make the first move and initiate some small talk every once in awhile. If you're like me and you like to be alone and keep to yourself often, be aware that this could be misinterpreted and internalized by someone else in a totally different way.
I also think that those who feel invisible because they don't have such advantages should try to understand that most native English speakers don't get what it is like to feel generally unconfident or embarrassed due to language proficiency (unless they've had a corresponding experience themselves). If it seems like they disapprove of your English skills because they aren't saying hello or indicating they want to talk to you, they are just shy or clueless and it has nothing to do with your language abilities. It might get a bit tiring trying to communicate, but we are never blaming the non-native speaker for not trying hard enough at learning English in school - many Americans feel inadequate because we aren't forced to learn second and third languages from elementary school on, and therefore we don't feel like we are in a position to judge your second/third/fourth language. We think you're the impressive ones for being multilingual, and we pay almost no attention to your mistakes. If we do notice them, we never connect them to you as a person, though we're happy to help you improve your English if you like. Therefore, if you want to, don't be afraid to make the first move and say hello either, even if we have a stony, lifeless default face (I've been told this is mine). :-)
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