There seems to be no end in sight to headline-grabbing controversies at the White House, during US President Donald Trump’s second term’. They range from Trump’s snide remarks about visiting dignitaries to threats, both direct and veiled, to other nations including some of America’s allies. His volatile temper has prompted political commentators to coin a new term, “the second term curse” to describe his unpredictable behaviour. Besides his isolationist tariff war, he has taken to patronising, belittling and even confronting visiting heads of state at the White House. In February, he lost his temper and abruptly shifted from diplomacy to confrontation, asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to leave the White House during an Oval office meeting which was preceded by some condescending remarks he made about the latter’s attire.
President Trump has apparently self-styled himself as a global standard-bearer as part of his MAGA (Make America Great Again) project, and one wonders whether, during his second term, the White House has become a Procrustean bed of dress etiquette and the English language proficiency, given his condescending remarks about the attire and communication skills of some visiting heads of state from the developing world.
The latest instance of Trump’s superciliousness was reported late last week, when he condescendingly praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai’s English language proficiency. He asked Boakai where the latter had learnt English. Little did Trump realise that Boakai had acquired English naturally in a country, where thousands of black Americans freed from slavery were settled beginning from the early 19th Century. The official language of Liberia is English. There have been some arguments in defence of Trump’s ‘compliment’ to his Liberian counterpart, but Trump’s condescending behaviour during his last week’s meeting with the heads of some West African nations cannot be taken in isolation––the broader context matters. His haughtiness has been persistent at all such meetings. He sounded hostile towards South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in an Oval Office meeting in May.
Meanwhile, Trump’s praise for Boakai for ‘speaking English beautifully’ has prompted the Sri Lankan Opposition to step up its propaganda assault on a government politician who could not express himself in English properly at an international forum. His critics seem to think there is no bigger shame than to lack proficiency in English. If a politician is not confident of facing an important interview conducted in English, he or she can always obtain the help of an interpreter. Those who have ganged up on the ruling party politician concerned need to be reminded that nobody’s knowledge of the English language is perfect. Mastering language skills is akin to setting sail in a bark on a boundless ocean, one may sway with apologies to Walt Whitman.
In fact, linguists now say there is no single ‘English’ as such—instead, there are many Englishes, with various countries, and language communities, speaking it with their own standards of grammar, pronunciation and lexis so much so that the Oxford English Dictionary World English programme has reportedly acknowledged that “with the current status of English as a world language, no longer is British English to be regarded as the dominant form of English – it is only one of the many individual varieties of the language that share a common lexical core but develop their own unique vocabularies.” The same goes for Trump’s American English. A seasoned American journalist once dubbed English as ‘a beautiful bastard language’, given the manner in which it has enriched itself with the help of other tongues. James Nicoll, a Canadian writer, has aptly described the rapid process of borrowing thus: “We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle their pockets for new vocabulary”. Even Sri Lanka’s iconic ‘kottu roti’ has made it to the OED!
The resilience of English as the most popular international language dominating even the digital realm—52% websites are published in English—can be attributed to its remarkable adaptability, flexibility and readiness to assimilate words from other languages and enrich its word stock perpetually. So, in the modern world, learning English is a fruitful pursuit for everyone, especially those who have to interact with the international community.
One could argue that English has become so globalised that it has gone the same way as denim, once a symbol of American identity, or the three-piece suit tied to English heritage, or tea, which originated in China, or pizza, whose Italian origin is unknown to many of its aficionados. In that sense, English does not belong to one particular nation, and the pride in proficiency therein may be misplaced.
Those who lack proficiency in English should make a serious effort to learn the most popular international language as it is a window to the world. Above all, neither the self-important Opposition politicians in Sri Lanka nor President Trump, who also apparently thinks no end of himself, can be considered competent enough to test anyone’s proficiency in English if their own communication skills are any indication.
