A very English problem
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I've recently acquired an interest in another language. As my friends, colleagues and regular readers will know, I have a passion for the English language, but lately I've been considering taking up a foreign tongue. As part of an online gaming community that I am regularly involved in, I have the opportunity to speak to a multitude of people from across the globe, not least from Europe. A large proportion of those I speak to the most frequently are from Sweden and Denmark, and for this reason, I've started to learn a handful of Danish words—a repertoire I'm now considering adding to.
I haven't really started yet. As I write this, some friends have plied me with a handful of words and I have to do my own research into the rest, which will no doubt involve buying a book—probably one that includes a CD of sorts—and attempting to struggle through it.
I'm always impressed by how fluently my European friends are able to speak in English, their second language. In fact, many of them speak and write English better than most English people I know. It makes me feel almost ashamed that I can barely utter a word in their native tongue.
As Brits, we seem to forget what a luxury we have. English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. As such, there aren't many countries you can go to these days where you won't find an English speaker somewhere if you're prepared to look hard enough. And yet, the vast majority of British people I know speak no other language, but speak English so poorly.
A strict grammarian, I often find myself fighting the urge to correct poor use of the language by those around me. It's interesting to me that I never have these issues with my European friends. Of course, some speak English better than others, but of the fluent speakers, I’m embarrassed to say that it's more likely to be them questioning my use of the English language than me correcting them.
One could argue that those taught English as a second language are likely only to be taught one way to construct sentences. Providing that way is correct, they're unlikely, therefore, to make mistakes. However, I'm puzzled why the same isn't true for those taught English as their first (or only) language. Admittedly, there are usually multiple ways to say something, but with such a broad scope even within the language's rules, it seems odd that we'd be so tolerant of errors.
Part of me is reassured that, if it is allowed to die in its homeland, for the time being at least the real English language survives in the safe hands of our European neighbours. Years from now, when the chavs have overrun the country and forced the last vestiges of civilisation into hiding, the well-spoken among us might be able to make new homes abroad, with those who are able to string together an intelligible sentence. Failing that, there's always Danish.