I see this so very often in the media as they slam and crash on Donald Trump and how he talks. Then, we carry it onto the web via social media and in real life real time we mock and ridicule others for the way they talk and use words we sometimes believe to be rude and crude but basic and simple to them in order to speak or communicate in a style or manner they are comfortable with most of the time.
People laugh when someone doesn't pronounce a word properly, don't write something in proper English, spelling mistakes etc. – mostly, it’s the mainstream media who have targeted Trump for his English grammar shortcomings and finding easy targets in this game of Hit Trump in the mouth kind of game.
But this laughter goes deeper than that – it dwells into left field and becomes political fodder for many. Why is it okay to laugh at someone who is trying to write or speak in a language which he/she is not so good at but has to or chooses to do it due to circumstances or lack of proper education. Maybe, Trump talks the way he does because that’s his comfort zone and most people understand his words and related to them better than those politically correct double meaning coded words politician speak all the time.
What makes it okay to laugh about something that might be so sensitive to some who struggle to find the right words at the right time? What about the other characteristics that makes them a good person or better at heart than others?
I get that someone mispronouncing a word can be quite funny for someone who is quite fluent in that language, but where's our humanity? The kind of posts I see on vlogs, MSM articles and blogs which make fun of people's not so good English – quite I honestly don't like them.
I don’t have or need the urge to laugh at other people's poor English but after I actually started learning another way of understanding my own language. I came to know by trying to understand how and what they were saying.
Then, in repeating what was said, I began to experience how embarrassing and humiliating it can be to be made fun of. I would probably never even dare to try to speak in that language due to fear of embarrassment or at least, it was a thought that I had under those circumstances.
People who grow up being familiar with English, at least to some degree speak very well and pronounce every syllable and complete sentences most of the time. It’s not a fixed rule but a common practice to do it that way. Being familiar with a language and actually learning to speak, read or write that language is a totally different ball game. however, taking in the rule of ridicule, they both have the same lasting impact.
I have watched people who only speak foreign languages struggle with English and understand their disabilities. I think I have some familiarity with various languages, but I don't know how to speak any of them fluently or well enough to write it but I try at times and make a fool of myself doing so but not purposely.
I can say some words, understand some words but that's it. That's how the situation is real for some people here. They don't know how to speak English properly or write it but the lack of familiarity gives them kind of a false confidence, when trounced by others, I would say, for the lack of a better word.
But it doesn't mean you can make fun of them. Because it would only make the situation worse, because they would become defensive and I don't know how that would be helpful. I think not making fun of them and allowing them to make mistakes while guiding them in a subtle way is what should be done. Family is usually the best source for such guidance.
This very same principle applies to those who chose to communicate in words and sentences they are comfortable with and fits their own style to communicate - Whether they are educated or not, foreign or domestically raised, it is never right to make fun of anyone who chose to speak different than you do.
Thanks for reading
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