Thanks Juliana. I'll write a book of writing. one day i'll have it!
to continue...
as all of you probably know already, I always have an immense interest in the languag of english itself--lingusitically, socio-politically, poetically. Juliana has spotted this from my work which i think is extremely true. it is that I always interact with/think about english as a cross-culture. people all over the world (at least are expected to) speak english somewhat decently and, among them, not many even ask why that is the case. they believe it is just the way it is. which might be true.
don't get me wrong here. i love the english languauge to death. i just want to understand it even more.
what i have been thinking about (and still am) is the question of how to place english in the category of an international language, as free from socio-political baggage as possible. (this applies to poetry too--how do we read non-native enlish poetry, because it exists and might have resulted from "the world of english"!!) it irritates me constantly when i see ESL students from all over the world flocking into summer english programs in the states and elsewhere, learn almost nothing, and go home proud. (OK. I did this before, not sure how to hate exactly it but quite sure that there must be other ways.)
not to say the same scenario doesn't happen with other languages. but it so happans that english is so very dominant.
so here are some of my ideas (which i am not sure now these will actualize or not):
i want to think about how to let the learning of english for non-english speakers be more toward self-knowledge than resume builder. i want the understanding that english doesn't automatically entail superiority to get established somehow. right now, for many parts, english is just resume stuff and that's it. but there's so much more great things about english! one could argue, there's importance of communication here, i know, people need to be able to understand each other. english just happens to be the most common language. even if the result--people still need to learn english--stays the same, i think there's tremendous good to this piece of understanding if people get it.
now. for me. english is also almost the only way of expressing all this and, more importantly, my creative work. because, as compared to the other two languages i know, english has gone through most turbulant "creative" development (as way as other kind of development too--but let's stay focus here).
for example, i think the Thai language needs what has been modernism here. not to say there's anything negative about Thai. but, given the critical lack of interest and the absence of poets in the country--young people find poetry to be old-people's stuff, there are like two poetry books in bookstores--to me at least, something's got to change, no matter how minimally or slowly.
and, thinking this, i also want to try and keep what we call 'the system' within creative writing as out-of-the-picture as possible. get it before it gets here kinna measure. i guess i am trying to articulate all this as i think more about the future of me.
to continue...
as all of you probably know already, I always have an immense interest in the languag of english itself--lingusitically, socio-politically, poetically. Juliana has spotted this from my work which i think is extremely true. it is that I always interact with/think about english as a cross-culture. people all over the world (at least are expected to) speak english somewhat decently and, among them, not many even ask why that is the case. they believe it is just the way it is. which might be true.
don't get me wrong here. i love the english languauge to death. i just want to understand it even more.
what i have been thinking about (and still am) is the question of how to place english in the category of an international language, as free from socio-political baggage as possible. (this applies to poetry too--how do we read non-native enlish poetry, because it exists and might have resulted from "the world of english"!!) it irritates me constantly when i see ESL students from all over the world flocking into summer english programs in the states and elsewhere, learn almost nothing, and go home proud. (OK. I did this before, not sure how to hate exactly it but quite sure that there must be other ways.)
not to say the same scenario doesn't happen with other languages. but it so happans that english is so very dominant.
so here are some of my ideas (which i am not sure now these will actualize or not):
i want to think about how to let the learning of english for non-english speakers be more toward self-knowledge than resume builder. i want the understanding that english doesn't automatically entail superiority to get established somehow. right now, for many parts, english is just resume stuff and that's it. but there's so much more great things about english! one could argue, there's importance of communication here, i know, people need to be able to understand each other. english just happens to be the most common language. even if the result--people still need to learn english--stays the same, i think there's tremendous good to this piece of understanding if people get it.
now. for me. english is also almost the only way of expressing all this and, more importantly, my creative work. because, as compared to the other two languages i know, english has gone through most turbulant "creative" development (as way as other kind of development too--but let's stay focus here).
for example, i think the Thai language needs what has been modernism here. not to say there's anything negative about Thai. but, given the critical lack of interest and the absence of poets in the country--young people find poetry to be old-people's stuff, there are like two poetry books in bookstores--to me at least, something's got to change, no matter how minimally or slowly.
and, thinking this, i also want to try and keep what we call 'the system' within creative writing as out-of-the-picture as possible. get it before it gets here kinna measure. i guess i am trying to articulate all this as i think more about the future of me.
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