because first you become familiar with the main areas, then you get to know other areas and eventually all the bits link up and you understand all of it.
this one hits close to my heart right now as I have just moved down here to eugene and it's the first time Ive really lived in another city. I have to meet new people and leave the old ones behind which is kinda bittersweet.
English has, for better or for worse, become a global language. It is the language of commerce, the language of travel, the language of power.
My theology teacher talked about this last year, he said the term was "lingua franca" which directly translates to the french language as the time when the phrase was created was the peak of the rench colonial empire. I feel so blessed to have been born an english speaker however it's also hindering me because I feel like it holds me back from learning a second language.
Imagine a scenario where a job applicant is judged negatively in an interview based on their regional dialect, despite being highly qualified. This implies that the interviewer holds a standard-language ideologyand we can infer that the interviewee’s dialect is considered less prestigious and professional.
I am saddened that this really exists. Even though on paper in 2025 we should be so far away from this we are still so deep in the bias and most of the time its unconcious.
What if someone told you that you couldn’t pick up a paintbrush unless you were already a great artist? What if someone said you could only swim in the pool if you were an Olympic-level swimmer? Or that you couldn’t make pasta in the kitchen because you’re not yet a 5-star chef? You would immediately know that such high standards are ridiculous. Then why do many of us have such fear of learning languages ‘imperfectly’?
I really understand the concept of this opening chapter pararaph. I feel held back and held down by peoples opinions of me, especially when driving, nobody wanna let me drive them around because im not an F1 racer or something.