Educational Articles

Why There Is No Place For ‘Hinglish’ In English

MULTI-CULTI
A book launched last month gave a different and enlightening perspective on an issue that we here, at the Extra Tuition Centre, have to deal with everyday. ‘The Queen’s Hinglish’ written by teacher Baljinder Mahal openly acknowledged the hybridisation of the English and Hindi language. By giving examples of these humorous conjunctions that are commonly used by the Punjabi and Hindi speaking Asians, she was able to highlight the more serious side of the matter. Words such as ‘haina’ meaning ‘isn’t it’ and ‘badmash’ meaning ‘hooligan’ shed light on the issue of Britons who have to contend with more than one language in everyday life. This point made by Mahal also reflects in the culturally diverse pupils attending the ETC, for whom learning English is second to their more dominant mother-tongue.

Despite acknowledging this ‘hybrid of languages’, I wondered what it meant for the English-speaking world. As an educational body, the ETC works with children to improve their English, so is this hybrid a positive or a negative aspect in a child who is actively attempting to learn ‘proper’ English?

Parents will always dream of what their children could achieve, not matter what they end up being in life. But a second language can complicate and hinder these hopes. Perhaps because of this growing awareness towards the English language, we see more students than ever undergoing private tuition in a bid to enhance their academic performance; and unsurprisingly many of these students come from multi-lingual homes. It is this pressure to master more than one language, and the confusion that arises from it, that is reflected in their work.

LOST IN TRANSLATION
Even if the underlying current of ‘The Queen’s Hinglish’ was inclined towards the humorous, Mahal hit on something a lot of teachers encounter within school, but have no knowledge of overcoming. Alongside ‘Hinglish’ other languages exist which make up the culture of Britain’s multi-lingual population. Could it be this incongruous merging of languages that both teachers and students are really trying to combat at every English lesson? What’s more, how do parents, who are actively involved in both languages, assist their children in conquering English? All jokes aside, the hybrid that equals ‘Hinglish’ is not, after all recognised by AQA.

As one fifth of an Asian household which handles three different languages on a daily basis, it is a case I know only too well. My siblings and I are all British citizens, and despite studying in the British Education System from the age of three, we all have addictions to words only persons brought up in multilingual households could have. This is the hybrid that Mahal evidently refers to in her book. This may be acceptable within colloquial bounds, but used literally, is unintelligible and therefore unacceptable. This is why many of us can and have benefited from the ETC to straighten our ‘Hinglish’ into English.

When I was young, my parents (who are from Indian origin) wanted me to excel as well as I could in English. Over time, what was their ‘second’ language became my first, and the chance for us to make a better future and succeed in areas they could not, was finally being realised. This is where the issue of private tuition regarding the conquering of the ‘hybrid’ language can be recognised. My parent’s knew that the starting point for any student wanting to do well was in Maths and English. They are the two subjects that dominate the academic system. So, on this note, tuition in core subjects played a vital role, because they allowed me to reach my goal of achieving success.

Some people may think that having their child tutored, in some way indicates that their child is inadequate. Others are perhaps a little embarrassed that they send their child to be tutored. Most are proud of the opportunity to help their child go further. But when that child is involved in a ‘hybrid of languages’, it can be a necessity.

Needless to say, the decision to send my younger sibling to the Extra Tuition Centre was born from this very same issue. Indeed, even making the decision threw up some obstacles, such as ‘Who would take her?’, ‘Who would monitor her progress?’, ‘How would we know how well she is doing?’ We also questioned the role of teachers in school; shouldn’t they be providing extra help to their students instead of parents arranging for outside tuition? But among the most insistent issue was again that of language: how would my parents understand – with their limited English – how well their daughter was doing? There was a mixture of anxiety and doubt. But unbeknownst to them, this decision was the first step towards overcoming their fears. For instance, when I asked my mum what stopped her from agreeing to the lessons, she said it was having to talk to the bus driver, ‘I get scared thinking how I will ever understand any of it when they talk so fast.’

THE ETC EFFECT
When I looked back I realised that the obstacle, in many ways, was my parents themselves; or more importantly, their perception. They realised that if they didn’t push themselves forward in this clash of languages, how could they ever expect their daughters to do any better?

A few months later once the tuition process had begun, routines had been formed and barriers overcome, my father asked her how she felt she was getting on. He came away with a feeling of relief and hope, ‘I think she was pleased she was receiving help – it has boosted her confidence in the way she speaks and writes. The fact hat her grades are improving at GCSE level tells us a lot’.

The aim of the Extra Tuition Centre is to help children realise their strengths. When it involves teaching children to let English progress alongside their ‘home’ language, it can be seen as even more of a challenge, but not impossible. Overall, our experience of the ETC centre taught us that, although the hybrid of languages do and will exist, it is not necessarily ‘real’. ‘Hinglish’ is a novelty, a growing fad and a way to enrich a multicultural nation. Being well-spoken and knowing how to write articulately is the key to the future, but allowing ‘Hinglish’ to invade and pepper our ‘standard English’ is wrong. In the ‘real’ world, only proper English is accepted, which is why it is necessary for the ETC to help its pupils go further, and succeed in becoming fluent in English.

By Hardeep Sandher