Mirror Miglactic

By: Asanda Maki

When convincing a tutor, lecturer or your fellow students about something you think twice about what to say because your English is broken. Sometime we tend not ask lecturers questions after lecture, because you are afraid they will find it difficult to understand you, your English is broken! Sometime it seems like it (your English) doesn’t want to come out. “At University welcome to the “English” the main spoken language on and off campus”. Well the have their reasons to do this in which I’m not interested in.

It may be unfamiliar for students whose English is their second language at University, because saying if you are coming from your home country or town and you were used to the idea of convincing your teachers or your fellow learners in your native language in academic terms here; its different. Because at University especially the one I’m studying at….Rhodes University, things are different and quietly unfamiliar. “You wake up and say hello in English, you go to lectures you greet everybody in English, lunch and supper you greet everyone in English, even when you are going to sleep, you have to say “goodnight” in English”…..Okay maybe I am a bit sarcastic here…but this happens and trust me I was almost get bored up until some of my friends I met were speaking my home language.

I hope I don’t sound racist, but I think English is dominating because lecturers are predominantly whites in Universities……. “Its just an opinion” I want us to look at this ridiculous statement……”it’s not a good idea to speak your own language on campus, if you are not English”. I don’t mean to be vulgar in terms of language but I’m trying to clear something some of us don’t understand. Maybe you can think I’m damn good at English, no I’m not…I just dropped it after my June examinations, actually I was advised by the Rhodes Head of Department of English to give it up because of some reasons.

At Rhodes University or in any other Universities internationally; if English is not your first language you may experience some problems when you first begin studying your first year. This is what they said to me, if English is your second language, it is not unusual for you to find it difficult at first to understand the English spoken by lectures, tutors or other students satisfactorily. That is very frustrating for me. They say you simply need time to get used to spoken English, because it’s a normal experience. You find it difficult in contributing in tutorials; maybe they may seem very daunting for you. Reading through the course material that you are expected to get through as part of the course in English. The worst and extremely daunting one is essay writing in which you are expected to write about 2000 words academic essay. Its difficult for a number of reasons. First the length (you may not have had previous experience of writing anything longer than 250 words); second the style and lastly the correct use of English language just like a native speaker is expected.

I believe that as a first year student, speaking your own language on campus is cool. They say speaking English enables you to get through what I have just mentioned above and to boost your spoken English. Yes I agree on that but I think saying it’s not a good idea to speak your own language on campus is completely a ridiculous statement that makes no sense.

Ndithetha isiXhosa (I am speaking isiXhosa) and I wish if I meet someone on campus whom I know s/he is speaking isiXhosa would do the same. “I’m tired of ama-coconut” offense but really I wish someone could speak his/her native language. I also wish that every subject I do was taught in my native language, not that I don’t understand they way I am being taught by…but I wish my son/daughter one day can be taught in proper Xhosa. It is a good idea to speak your own language on campus even if you are not English, it’s important to speak your own language too on campus.

Its 2008 for crying out loud….14 years of democracy….we can speak our own language nobody is going to laugh at us!!