My Three Englishes: That Are Not Only Englishes
Out of all the languages spoken in our world today, English continues to be the most prevalent and judgmental language in our society. There are many variations of it for each individual. As Amy Tan puts it the different “Englishes.” Being born in India and raised in Japan for part of my childhood and then moving to the United States exposed me to many cultures and languages. From the day I learned to talk, my parents spoke to me in Tamil; one of the many languages that are spoken in India. When I moved to Japan, I was forced to learn Japanese because the schools taught the curriculum in Japanese. While I was juggling between these two languages, an Indian couple who was our neighbor spoke Bengali and they spoke to me in Bengali. From what my parents told me, I was cognizant of the time and place and switched to the appropriate language that best suits the situation. Thus, for a long time I spoke Tamil with my parents, Japanese at school and Bengali when I went to that couple’s house...