How You Say It summary

Consider the famous writers Joseph Conrad and Vladimir Nabokov. Conrad was born in Poland and grew up speaking Polish and French. Nabokov hailed from Russia and mostly spoke Russian as a child. Yet, both men earned literary acclaim for novels written in English.

Clearly, these men of letters must have managed to master English later in life. Yet, when Conrad spoke, his words had a thick Polish accent, while Nabokov spoke with just a hint of Russian.

Let’s take a quick trip back in time to June 16, 1976 and the streets of Soweto, a poor township in Johannesburg, South Africa. Around you, the streets are filled with furious students. They’re marching, chanting, and waving signs in protest. What do they want? Simply, the right to speak their own language.

You see, it's the era of apartheid, and just a few weeks ago, the ruling National Party passed the Afrikaans Medium Decree. This new law has made Afrikaans, the language of the country’s white ruling minority, the only acceptable language in schools. Local languages like Zulu, Sotho, and Tswana, have been banned.

Imagine it’s 40,000 years ago and you’re an early human wandering the forests of Europe. Suddenly, there’s a rustle in the bushes and an unfamiliar figure steps onto the path in front of you. You must make a quick judgment: are they friend or foe?

It’s hard to know just by looking. After all, many of the distinguishing qualities you use to categorize people are completely irrelevant. At this point in time, there’s no such thing as nationality. And, the different skin tones which will one day be used to differentiate races won’t emerge for thousands of years.

No doubt you’ve heard of, if not seen, Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Jungle Book. These fun, family-friendly movies entertain children all over the world with their magical genies, rousing songs, and heartwarming tales of interspecies friendship. But, just below the surface, they may unintentionally present a more disturbing message: don’t trust foreign accents.

The sad truth is that in many mainstream films, the good guys usually speak perfect American English, while the bad guys and funny characters talk with heavy non-standard accents. Just compare Simba’s plainspoken English to the growly British voice of his evil uncle, Scar.

Manuel Fragante had all the right qualifications for his dream job at the Department of Motor Vehicles. He was a veteran, a high school valedictorian, and even had a law degree. What’s more, out of all the applicants, he scored the highest on the civil service exam. He was a shoo-in.

Yet, after a brief interview, he didn't get the job. You see, Fragante was Filipino, and the hiring team didn’t like his accent. They said it made him a bad communicator, even though he spoke grammatically perfect English. So, Fragante sued for discrimination. After many appeals, he still lost the case.

What do you call that small, furry pet with whiskers, pointy ears, and a tail? Pose this question to an English-speaking child and they’ll answer right away – “Cat.” Ask a Spanish-speaking child the question in Spanish, and they’ll tell you without hesitation – “Gato.”

Now, what happens if you present this same query to a child from a bilingual English-Spanish household? Will they freeze up in confusion? Will they clumsily combine cat and gato into a new hybrid? No, they’ll simply consider what language you speak, and respond in kind.