I am an American whose native language is English. I am fifty-eight years old and have been fascinated by English grammar for decades. I have bought usage books and grammar books. I think I read and speak the language almost as well as anyone can, but I confess with sadness that you, Jose, make distinctions in your forum here that most Americans are usually unaware of, and I applaud you for your studies in this, possibly the most difficult of all languages to learn.
You say English is a valuable bridge in the Philippines. Perhaps it is. Perhaps it helps bring people together who would otherwise be linguistically separated. But looking at English from a broader perspective, I must ask whether English is a language that will solve all the world's language barriers. When I was working in a certain hospital, one of our newly hired workers was from Canada, and had originally lived in the Philippines. His English was
very hard to understand. He was at last fired and sent back to Canada because he could not understand what others wanted him to do. My wife once sought computer help from a Filipino over the phone. They were unable to understand each other very well, although both spoke English. My wife, in frustration, finally said, "Is there anyone there who speaks English better than you?" The Filipino lady said, "I try harder. I try harder." But it did not work. My wife finally had to speak to someone else in the network.
It is
not just a matter of the English of the Philippines. I have worked with Nigerian immigrants. In Nigeria, English is the "official" language, as you know. It is rare, however, that I can easily understand them. The ones I can understand best have lived in many countries and have been exposed to other speakers outside Nigeria, it seems. This is also the case with some immigrants from Mexico, a neighboring country. This is not as big a problem, simply because
I have learned to understand and speak some Spanish! I could tell you stories about people from other countries as well who have studied English in university: Japanese, Chinese, and others.
The problem is this: English is an
extremely difficult second language for everyone. I'm sure you already know the reasons: difficult spelling, difficult grammar, thousands of slang words, and so on.
Let me tell you a simple story.
When I find an English speaker in Europe, we just speak, conduct our business, and that is that.
When I find an Esperanto speaker in Europe or anywhere else, he is likely to say, "Have you had lunch?"
There is a bond between Esperantists that is hard to understand, a bond of the spirit. You can learn the language from a book or two.
You don't have to hear it before you learn to speak it, if you are familiar with phonetics, because there are no complicated vowel sounds. You don't have to spend four years in a university taking courses. Usually, four months by yourself is enough. The spelling is easy. All the verbs are regular verbs. All the rules have almost no exceptions.
Please do not dismiss Esperanto. It has its place in the world.
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