As someone who speaks English as a second language, this is a relatable poem about the struggles of learning English, and the added pressure of knowing that I won’t get anywhere in life without that skill. Due to the Imperialism & Colonization of the British Empire, English is the world’s most spoken language and the Lingua Franca of today’s globalized world. Rules of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary are stressed when learning the language, and how well we adhere to those rules is the basis for which we are graded on our fluency level. Yes, languages by definition have set rules and structures, which are fundamental for learning. But language is also a powerful tool for determining in- and out-status for particular groups of people. The regional, cultural, and socioeconomic context from which you stem will influence your use of language, and signify where you come from. This outward signifier of your heritage can help or hinder you as you make your way through life. Many marginalized groups develop their own dialects of language, and code-switch to fit into the dominant culture in public or professional settings. A popular example is AAVE, which is spoken by many African Americans across America, but gets discredited as improper or incorrect. As Endang mentions in the poem though; “And yes, I found smile on some faces in different places // Broadly welcoming new guests // Left me with questions in my head as I didn’t hear any syllable being stressed”. In some settings, people can be welcoming and open to strangers, despite the language barrier. When people make efforts to see and understand each other in spite of the difficulties, we can develop powerful connections. I also find the grammatical errors interesting; they get more frequent the further the poem progresses, to underscore English being her second language as well as the fact that we still understand her. Despite the errors that would have gotten marked in the test she describes in the first paragraph, we understand what she means. It goes to show that languages are more than the rigid rules and structures we impose on them. As long as we just take the time and effort to understand the speaker, we are communicating in that language. In the final paragraph, she’s nearly incoherent as she says “And you keep on delay until all the letters, the words and the sentences perish // Then the rule you demolish // But you forgot to unleash // The burden of language”. I interpret the burden of language as the moment you achieve understanding of someone else, regardless if the language adheres to the rules or not. Language is more than the rules of grammar and traditional ways of expression, they are flexible, arbitrary, and ever-evolving. Establishments and more conservative speakers of a language may feel negatively about that, due to their intentions of preserving the specific language. But when you impose a language on people and demand them to adopt it, you invite that change. This is the demolition of rules that occur as the burden of language is unleashed on non-native speakers.
