I am not a “non-native English writer.” Neither am I a “native English writer.” I’m a multi-language author.
Recently on The Clarity Editor I came across a post that gave voice to an issue I have been pondering. The article advocated the use of “multi-language author” for writers whose first language is not English, yet they write in English. As an author of South Asian origin, I have never been comfortable with the term “non-native English writer,” especially since I can express myself in English better than most “native” English speakers. I feel the term “non-native” defines a writer in relation to their presumed intimacy and ownership of the English language, and seems to carry an implicit condescension of writing in English despite foreignness and assumed limitations. I’m also not a “native English writer” because I meld Urdu words with English in my writing, not because I can’t express myself fully in either language but because it is an extension of who I am – a writer with a multilingual sensibility. I don’t feel the need to translate a culturally-specific Urdu word into English when I write because I wish to retain the music and nuance of the original word. The original word has its own weight, stress, relevance, rhythm, that as a poet I feel no desire or inclination to compromise on, neither do I consider it incompatible with my expression in English. The interruption of English on the page is a deliberate, conscious choice.
“The terms “native speaker” and “non-native speaker” suggest a clear-cut distinction that doesn’t really exist. Instead it can be seen as a continuum, with someone who has complete control of the language in question at one end, to the beginner at the other, with an infinite range of proficiencies to be found in between.”
Traditionally, native speakers or writers of English were determined geographically. If you were from a country where the dominant or primary language is English, you were considered a native speaker of English. Linguist Braj Kachru, in “Standards, Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism: The English Language in the Outer Circle” (1985) termed these core English-speaking countries as “Inner Circle.” Countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States, Britain, and Ireland. “Non-native” posited other English speakers and writers in reference to being outside these countries. Nowadays, “native speaker/writer” and “non-native speaker/writer” are charged and controversial terms because of inherent assumptions of homogeneity and linguistic competence attached to them. Caroline Brandt in Success on Your Certificate Course in English Language Teaching. (Sage, 2006) says it best:
“The terms “native speaker” and “non-native speaker” suggest a clear-cut distinction that doesn’t really exist. Instead it can be seen as a continuum, with someone who has complete control of the language in question at one end, to the beginner at the other, with an infinite range of proficiencies to be found in between.”
In identifying as a “multi-language author,” I feel relieved that I can shed the political and ideological constructs that accompany the terms “native” and “non-native,” and instead align with a more inclusive term which is a celebration of ability rather than a referential identity.
Sources:
- Nordquist, Richard. “Native Speaker – Definition and Examples in English.” ThoughtCo, Aug. 25, 2020, thoughtco.com/native-speaker-linguistics-1691421.
- The Power of Words: Multi-language Authors
Leave a Reply