In a country where many people want to experience living overseas, where a major portion of the productive labor force wants to be exported to work in a richer country, Where an “IELTS” examination is considered to be a better option than a university degree majoring in English, where English schools and kindergartens are growing at an alarming rate, where most of high school students dream of going abroad for future studies, don’t you think it’s ironic that people give you bizarre looks and insulting comments when you speak in English?

Being fluent in and respecting your mother tongue is essential, but at the same time, in this global village of today, being familiar with foreign languages is essential in order to be abreast of all the happenings and developments. To speak English means to grab the tool of accessing knowledge and information in the contemporary world. One might feel educationally illiterate or left out if she/he lacks the ability to speak English fluently. Factually, every parent tries to send his children to English schools or kindergarten so that their children can speak English and become confident in every aspect of their personality.

On the other hand, you get labeled with words like “showoff” if you tend to speak English on a regular basis; people do not understand that by doing so one does not intend to belittle anybody. In our day- to-day conversation we use so many Western words from the French (eg. bu lông, cờ lê, ghi đông, pê đan etc.) while speaking Vietnamese because we don’t have any other convenient alternatives. We have very readily embraced those words in our daily language, so why it is so difficult to accept people who speak English. In addition, it would be completely wrong not to mention people who have categorized speaking English as a sign of “being westernized”. According to them, English is the language of the elite, and they feel prohibited to speak it. Maybe this is the reason why non-English speakers get annoyed and feel belittled. Due to this, they feel the need to reciprocate by insulting the ones who speak in English through comments and taunts. The entire thought process behind this article was started by a specific incident. A few days back, while my friend and I were speaking to each other in English in a café, we were scolded very rudely by another group of people who were mocking us and passing us very nasty comments via a social media channel. By doing so, they did not embarrass us in anyway, but displayed how narrow-minded they were and they made us wonder if speaking in English will make us face this sort of behavior from others.

Speaking or not speaking English is not the point, but what matters is to recognize the dignity everyone has, a person’s quality does not become better or worse by the language she/he speaks but by what she/he conveys in those words. Interpreting and judging the person and her/his characters through these inadequate criteria is WRONG because the true value of a person is not simply showcased by the language they speak.