The Linguo-Racial Complex

The Linguo-Racial Complex

The Linguo-Racial complex is a phenomenon that I (and many other
people, I guess) discovered while learning foreign languages. It refers
to how average people associate a language with people's racial
characteristics and have confusing reactions to the speaker of the
language if he/she does not have the appearance that a "normal" speaker
of such language has. Here are some examples:

A White American took years of Spanish and is now fluent in it. He
talks Spanish to some Mexican or Cuban immigrants in the US. They make
a wry face and answer in broken English. He again speaks Spanish to
them. They again answer in English (which is much worse than the white
American's Spanish).

A Brit learns Japanese and speaks it very well now. He stops people on
the streets of Tokyo and talks to them. They look at him like they have
seen E.T. -with eyes wide-open and jaws dropped. Some smile sheepishly
and walk on. Some look irritated and say in Japanese- "the language, I
do not speak the language". Some answer in bad English, some walk by
saying "I do not speak English", some asking him: "Do you speak
Japanese?"(And what is he speaking now, Bantu?).

A European gentleman sits in a restaurant in an Arab country. He calls
a waiter and asks for "thom"- garlic. The waiter looks shy and makes
gestures at the customer- "One moment please, one moment please" and
walks away. Thinking that he went to get garlic, the customer patiently
awaits his food. Guess what? He brought another waiter who addresses
the customer with "May I help you, sir?" "I asked for bloody garlic in
Arabic, why are you here asking me again?" "Sorry sir, we did not
realize you could speak Arabic". "But I was speaking Arabic to the
first waiter!"

The first waiter's mind did not register the fact that in spite of the
speaker's European appearance he was, in fact, speaking Arabic.

An American man who spent 15 years in the Philippines is with his
girlfriend. He stops a taxi and talks to the driver in Tagalog. The
driver ignores him like he does not exist and starts talking to his
girlfriend about the taxi fare and all. People with high noses and
white skin speak English. People with flat noses and brown skin speak
Tagalog. People with high noses and white skin speaking Tagalog are
absurd and probably unreal. Let's talk to the girl- her nose is flat
and her skin is brown. She is a Tagalog speaker.

Here is another example: an Australian has spent half of his life in
Thailand and speaks Thai fluently. He stops at a street stall. The
hawkers look at him incredulously as he begins speaking Thai. One of
them lights up and starts yelling out to others: "He can talk! He can
talk!"

The Lingo-Racial complex can take ugly extremes such as people ignored
at restaurants and not served. People not being rented apartments
because the landlord is afraid that he cannot communicate with English
speakers (who speak his language very well) and friendships and dates
being denied because, you see, I can't speak English. "

"But I can speak your language!" A dull and incredulous look and
silence are the answer.

In a place that has many tourists and foreigners of a particular
"stock" people form a stereotypical reflex about how a person who looks
like that should talk and behave.

In places that are excessively provincial and or/nationalistic people
cannot even conceive of a person who is clearly of another race being
able to speak their language.

In some Latin countries particularly in the Caribbean and Mexico the
speakers see Spanish as "their" language and become shocked and even
insulted if a person of "another (non-Latin) race" speaks it.

Anglo-Saxon countries such as the US , UK, etc. do not have that
complex but the opposite of it- in their cultural view the whole world
speaks English and if they don't they should and soon will. So there is
no surprise if a Japanese person speaks English- he should.

Argentina, being an immigrant Spanish speaking society will have a
similar attitude and will lack the Complex. So, I guess, would Brazil.

Good news? Well, not everyone has the complex. There are many people
who are happy to see that you speak the language and many people who
will not even be surprised that you do. Many will treat you as an equal
especially after they got to know you. However, when one studies
languages of nations where the majority of people do not look like you,
one has to get ready to face the awkwardness of it.

It's all in the expat's day's work. What's to do?

.

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