Being Bilingual: The Hidden Irony

While it may be presumptuous to say that I am 100% bilingual, it is safe to say that I am bilingual, only not 100%. Unlike a lot of my peers who had mixed families, where one of the parents was Korean, I was lucky enough to have a mother who spoke her native language to me 95% of the time. Of course, I’m sure living in Korea gave me an advantage over my peers who lived in the states for the most part, but I’m thinking about the ones who have lived here most of the time instead.

It’s funny. At work, my Korean ahjumma co-workers keep praising me at how I’m so lucky to speak English and Korean well. Even the other day, when I went to do my hair, I was a translator for my friend, and the stylist told me that he’s jealous that I am fortunate to speak both languages. Even my mother, gets praises from her peers, saying that she’s lucky to have a daughter who speaks Korean and English instead of just the latter. I admit, being bilingual really is a useful skill, but I will admit that my Korean’s pretty weak. Sure, I can speak, read, and write Hangeul, but my speaking skills are at the level of an eight-year old, and my reading and writing skills are of those belonging to a seven-year old.

The point is, though, a lot of people want to be bilingual, but sometimes the opportunities they have in front of them are taken for granted. I look at those women (or men) who wish their children can speak their native language with them, but then I look at their situation and go, “well you reaped what you sowed”. They are the ones who chose to speak mostly English and only minimum of their native languages. They are the ones who wanted to improve their English.

Now I am aware that the mothers (or fathers) want to improve their English, especially if they move to an English-speaking country like the United States. I’m also aware that some people feared they would be discriminated for speaking their native language, especially in the earlier days and even now depending on location. Really, though, just consider the native language as part of the children’s heritage and keep in mind that being bilingual or even multilingual is a wonderful skill to have in today’s world as globalisation becomes more prominent. A parent who wants to be bilingual is fine and everything, but let the children be bilingual, too. Giving them a chance to learn about their culture is one thing parents can give to their children for free!

Ah, I’ve seen so many people like that here. It just makes me laugh, quite honestly. It’s really hilarious and ironic to hear and see such situations mentioned above. Of course there’s also the situation where the children themselves make no effort to learn the language, but that’s an entirely different story, which I’m guilty of as well!