Colonialism, Language, and the need to assimilate from a South-East Asian perspective
Colonialism is defined as the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. At one point of time, the British Empire was the largest empire in the world when they had colonized large parts of Africa, Middle East and Asia. The British Empire fell in the years after the Second World War when many of their former colonies declared independence. As a result, some may argue that in the 21st Century colonialism no longer exists since the colonizers are no longer in most of the countries they once took. However, the reality is that colonialism still exists and is rooted in our institutions and affects people’s everyday life.
The effects of colonialism can still be felt today by the descendants of the original victims. The effect that this essay will discuss is the way in which colonialism has affected the language is used and perceived. Language is an integral part of culture and identity as it is used to convey values and beliefs and pass down stories from long before. Under colonialism, language was culturally conquered in many countries.
Many parts of Southeast Asia, what is known today as Singapore, Malaysia, and parts of Indonesia, were colonized by Britain. People from the previously stated countries and many others often code switch and use some form of a creole language or essentially improper English. For example, Singlish (Singaporean-English) and Manglish (Malaysian-English) are both recognized English-based creole languages. The multilingual nature of Southeast Asian often means that people are used to code switching naturally in conversation. Code switching as defined by Oxford Languages is the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation.
Many people from Southeast Asia tend to code switch from their use of creole language such as Singlish or Manglish or just Southeast Asian slang to what is deemed standard or professional English in their home country and overseas. However, whilst it is common courtesy to not use a language around people if unless everyone understands it, it often goes beyond just code switching, it becomes a strong desire to assimilate to Western culture to the point where when speaking people’s accents, enunciation and demeanor completely change. In addition, this is also supported by the fact that many Southeast Asians parents also push the idea that English is crucial to the point where many people are unable to speak other languages of their country. It has even become an issue in some countries such as Malaysia and Singapore where governments have criticized the poor understanding and practice of the national language.
It is understandable that with globalization English is crucial however this still begs the question why is there such a powerful desire for the need to assimilate?
There are many potential reasons, some of which are harmless such as the need to assimilate with globalization or wanting to fit into a new culture. However, there are many more which stems from colonialism. Firstly, the common idea with colonialism when it was actively occurring was that the colonists were the well-bred and refined whereas the colonized were brutes and savages so nowadays the way we speak might be interpreted as a reflection of one’s level of education or social status. Therefore, some Southeast Asian people might feel concern about being perceived as uneducated when code switching or using some form of creole and as a result people can feel the need to change.
It is also arguable that some of this also stems from a perpetuation of western superiority which has been fed to us through representation in the media and history. Eurocentrism is a world view centered on Western civilizations or favors Western civilizations. In Southeast Asia, in my view foreigners from Caucasian countries are often treated better than even people who are native to the country, and this is comes from the rose-colored glasses of eurocentrism. Eurocentrism and racism both go hand in hand. In a world where people of color in Western countries are told ‘Speak English or go back to your own country’ it is obvious that some white people still feel a sense of superiority. When improper English is used it can sometimes be met with racism or scorn. Racism itself directly stems colonialism. This superiority complex and prejudice did not come out of nowhere, it was built upon years of colonialism where the colonizers believed that they were better than the colonized. Racism is something that I have experienced firsthand myself in the UK and it is honestly no surprise that I received many more looks when I speak a foreign language, so I suppose when students go overseas, there is not necessarily only a want to assimilate but the need to in order not to be the victim of further racial bias.
Whilst there are situations where professional or proper English is required, there is no doubt that code switching has colonial roots and is about people having to not just fit into white culture but also survive white culture. Another question also comes to mind, no matter how much we assimilate will we ever be treated the same?
When it comes to white people being racist against people of color for using creole languages or improper English, many would say that there are very few people who have this backwards way of thinking and I wholeheartedly agree. In the 21st Century with globalization and Gen Z, it is true that most people do not have this mindset. However, it does not take away from the fact that it is a very real issue which comes from colonialism, where people are uncomfortable or unconfident and feel the need to change the way they represent themselves to be more suitable to a Western audience or sometimes they unknowingly do it because the all the media in the world is telling us that we should.
Colonialism created the idea Eurocentrism, continues the fuel racism, and still perpetuates western superiority, all of which are remain very prominent issues today and are affecting the language of Southeast Asia. There should be a sort of pride in being able to mix three languages into one sentence and have people understand you regardless of race or ethnicity yet, I still sometimes find myself guilty of the way I choose to speak my language and how I choose to represent myself and so it would seem that the undeniable reality is that colonialism is unfortunately still alive and well and it affects our everyday life.
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