語言是一種交流媒介，只要它能使信息從一方傳遞到另一方，它就是有效的。

認(rèn)為中式英語令人尷尬的人，很可能是因?yàn)樗麄儗?duì)語言和身份之間關(guān)系的看法非常狹隘。例如，作為一個(gè)中文不流利的華裔美國人，我經(jīng)常聽到(不請(qǐng)自來的)說我應(yīng)該說我祖國的語言。這種觀點(diǎn)根植于標(biāo)準(zhǔn)語言意識(shí)形態(tài)，即由主導(dǎo)機(jī)構(gòu)強(qiáng)加和維持的對(duì)同質(zhì)語言的偏見。換句話說，持這種觀點(diǎn)的人認(rèn)為說一種語言只有一種“正確”的方式，而且這種方式應(yīng)該被強(qiáng)制執(zhí)行。

然而，通過強(qiáng)迫我們遵循統(tǒng)一的語言，這種偏見壓制了歷史上不同群體混合時(shí)自然產(chǎn)生的充滿活力的語言多樣性，剝奪了我們真實(shí)的自我表達(dá)手段。例如，說中式英語不僅能讓我用漢語或英語都無法表達(dá)的方式表達(dá)思想，創(chuàng)造了一種既不完全是中國人也不適合美國人的獨(dú)特身份,而這種身份一樣是獨(dú)特地存在。 相反，在標(biāo)準(zhǔn)語言意識(shí)形態(tài)的框架下，身份的多面性概念將喪失。

最終，我們不僅應(yīng)該拒絕中式英語(或任何語言)令人尷尬或不如其他語言有效的觀念，還應(yīng)該對(duì)語言和身份有更廣泛的理解和接受程度。

Language is a medium of communication, and as long as it enables a message to be conveyed from one party to another, it’s valid.

People who find Chinglish embarrassing most likely do so because they hold a very narrowly-defined view on the connection between language and identity. For instance, as a Chinese American who isn’t fluent in Chinese, I’ve frequently heard (unsolicited) remarks that I should speak the language of my home country. This view is rooted in standard language ideology, which is the bias towards a homogeneous language imposed and maintained by dominant institutions. In other words, people who hold this belief think there’s only one “correct” way to speak a language and that way should be enforced within an identity group.

However, by forcing us to conform to a uniform language, this bias suppresses the vibrant language diversity that naturally emerges from the intermingling of different groups throughout history, depriving us of a means of authentic self-expression. For example, speaking Chinglish enables me to not only convey ideas or frame them in certain ways that cannot be expressed in either Chinese or English, but also reinforce a unique identity that doesn’t fit neatly into either a Chinese or an American one. Under the framework of standard language ideology, multifaceted conceptions of identity would be forfeit.

Ultimately, we should not only reject the notion that Chinglish (or any language) is embarrassing or less valid than another, but also embrace a broader understanding of language and identity.

KK.akida 原創(chuàng)，轉(zhuǎn)載需聯(lián)系授權(quán)，侵權(quán)行為將進(jìn)行法律追究

作者：K 常春藤達(dá)特茅斯大學(xué)，美國華裔

修譯: Gemini K