by axxxm
8/December/2024 in Kraków
These days
I feel a strange, yet quite intense irritation
when I hear English from native speakers
I used to like British English
But these days
when I hear British English, or any English from native speakers
I changed my route or switch seats in a cafe
Because
I don't want to hear their English
Because
their English irritates me
to a very strange extent
And I do know the reason
The reason is
their "too much" confidence
I speak English as a second language
And 99% of people I meet speak it as a second language too
So that
there is alway a distance between
their "emotions" & their "words"
I can always see this distance through
their eye movements
their hand gestures
their stuttering
And it makes me comfortable
Because
their struggles are my struggles
We share the same struggles
Native English speakers speak English
too fluently
too smoothly
too confidently
And
I can't see their internal fight to translate "emotions" into "words"
I can't see their distance between "emotions" & "words"
I can't see our shared struggles
Only thing I feel is "conceit" & "arrogance"
As if
there is no distance between "emotions" & "words"
As if
they can express all emotions via words
As if
we can express "EVERYTHING" and
we can share "EVERYTHING" with others
It brings irritation
to a strange
to an extraordinary
to an absurd extent
I want to see the struggles of a person in front of me
It is this struggle that
makes them look human
makes a bridge between me & them
makes me feel
I'm not the only one who struggles