グローバルな英語について英語で書いてみる

Yokichi Koga, a venture capitalist based in Palo Alto, gives a jab to Japanese people who value fluency in English in global business just way too much. The ability to make yourself understood, by tailoring the message to your counterpart, is far more important, he says. His argument stems from the below distinction he makes between language proficiency and communication skill.

コミュニケーション力とは、相手に自分の気持ちが伝わっていることを目的とする「相手の理解中心」のスキルである。一方、完璧な英語を話せるというのは自分の思考を正しいフォーマットでアウトプットできて格好いいという「自分の発言中心」のスキルである。

That is an interesting point, and it may well be true in business. For me, as a non-English-native, aspiring (and sometimes faltering) academic in the humanities in an UK institution, this does not apply. Unless you write or speak reasonably well in English you cannot participate in the debate, for you cannot make the point you want to make without the fluency that allows you to, if you so choose, write or speak in a convoluted, embellished way (of course you shouldn't). By the time you enter a doctorate programme, your argument is so complex and subtle that it requires a pathetically high level of linguistic sophistication. In other words it is not an issue of relative importance. In my setting, as far as I am concerned, well-composed prose is a prerequisite to deliver the message. In the humanities, after all, you have nothing but words. Believe it or not, we still write books.

Call it snobbish, call it linguistic imperialism. If you hate it you can choose not to take part. You can stay in the world of Japanese or whatever vernacular of your heritage. I accept the rule and enter the empire because I cannot live with global oblivion. It is easy to say that this is all wrong. We all know it is horrendously wrong. The point, still, is that this is a game so much is at stake that I cannot let go without making a bid, however bad the odds may be.

I am writing this post mainly because I was inspired by this critical response from a blogger quipped to Mr. Koga's post. His critique is twofold: that you cannot separate English proficiency from communication skill; and that there is so much to cherish in the language itself.

ぼくはアメリカに住んで１４年になるが、英語の発音も文法も完璧ではない。ただ村上春樹のふりをしてYelpのレビューも書けるし、鬱に苦しむアメリカ人の友達をチャット越しに笑わせることもできるし、日系アメリカ人相手にツイッターで一本とることもできる。[1]そういう意味では、自分は相当英語ができると自負しているし、それは単なる発音や文法や表現といった「英語力」に因るものでも、空漠とした「コミュニケーション力」によるものでもない。多分、「言葉は所詮ツールでしかない」と割り切れず、言葉に対して愚かしいほど強い想いを持ってきたことの結果だろう。

...(中略)...

これだけは言っておきたいのは、言葉は所詮ツールでしかないと思う人間が、英語を高いレベルで習熟することはなかなか難しいだろうということだ。

I cannot agree more. As one of the (puzzlingly) small number of people who could not reconcile with the fact that you speak poorly in the world's most widely used language by calling it a mere tool, I believe that the affection for this language, as ultimately futile as it may be, has given me the momentum to climb to the realm I would have reached no other way.