Chapter 9: A Tool and… A Mindset
Globish can achieve what it does because it is useful English without a huge number of words and cultural idioms. If Globish speakers can use just this middle level of English, they will be respected everywhere in the world. But the most important difference between English and Globish is how we think when we use Globish.
Who is responsible for effective communication? Is it the speaker and writer, or the listener and reader? The listener and reader cannot make communication good if the speaker or writer does not help. Who is guilty if the message does not get across? Who should do everything possible to make sure he or she is understood?
In English, the usual native speaker would answer: “Not me. I was born with English as a mother tongue, and I started listening to it – and learning it – in my mother’s arms. If you do not understand me, it is your prolem. My English is perfect. When yours gets better, you will not have the same difficulty. If you lack the drive to learn it, this is your problem, and not mine. English is the most important language. I am not responsible for that, but there is nothing I can do to make it different.”
Globish is the complete opposite: the person who wants to talk must come at least half the distance to the person he talks to. He or she must decide what is necessary to make the communication happen. The native English speaker or the excellent speaker of English as a second language must say: “Today I must speak at the Globish level so this other person can understand me. If my listeners do not understand me, it is because I am not using the Globish tool very well. This is my responsibility, not theirs.” Of course, not everyone accepts the idea of Globish yet. Perhaps they never heard about it. Perhaps they could never find the time to learn about it. Or perhaps they did not think they needed it.
Even if there are just two people, if this communication is important, Globish will help. This means you – the speaker – will take responsibility, using simple Globish words in a simple way, and using Globish “best practices” including body language and charts or pictures we can see. Most of all, when using Globish, the speaker should to wait for the listeners, to check they understand.
If there is a group of people, maybe only one does not speak Globish. The speaker can think: “This person is the only one in the group who can not understand or communicate in Globish. That is too bad. I will ask one of the others to help that one by explaining what was said in this discussion.”
So sometimes we decide it is better to communicate with those who understand, and let them tell any others. This means it is good to stop now and then, so the other persons can learn what was said. The English speakers will understand anyway, and the below-Globish level will not at all, but you must work with the identified Globish group until you succeed. If you do not communicate with those, the failure will be yours.
On the other hand, there will be times when you are with native English speakers who do not know about the Globish guidelines, never heard of them, or just don’t want to hear about it. But it is up to you to bring the discussion to the correct level. This is in your best interest, but it is also your duty, because many of the members of this group may already be lost in this discussion.
You must now be their Globish leader. They will be more than thankful to you for bringing the matter into the open without fear. It is easy. Many English speakers forget about others or just do not think about them. You just have to raise a hand, wave it until you are noticed, and say: “Excuse me, I am sorry but some of us do not understand what you are saying. We need to understand you. Could you please repeat, in Globish please, this time?”
To be sure, you will have a reaction, and your native-speaker friend might understand the point for the rest of his or her life. You will have done a great service. But the first reaction is most likely going to be surprise: “Globish, what’s that?” It will give you a fine opportunity to explain the story you now understand, and give its reasons. At best you will have an interested native speaker, who wants to know more, will understand your explanation, and will become a much better global communicator, and a Globish friend. That person will see that Globish is often better than English because it is much more sympathetic.
As we said, pronunciations are “acceptable” as soon as they are understood. A foreign accent is never a mistake; it is part of a person’s special quality. It makes you different, and can even make you sound sexy. People who have reasonable Globish pronunciation can now stop trying to make it “better” – or to get closer to some native English speaker’s – if they are understood.
We said Globish is still correct English. This means you are expected to write and speak in correct English. The grammar should be reasonable –about subjects and actions, time and place. Globish does not worry about very small differences in American and British speech or spelling or grammar. (And neither should anyone else.)
Globish is much more forgiving because it is asking for understanding, not perfect English. But there is an extra benefit in Globish to all native and non-native speakers: simplicity. It is what older politicians tell younger politicians about their first speeches. It is what older advertising people tell the bright younger ones about making a successful advertisement. It is what news editors tell their young writers about making a good news story. And it is what every English speaking professor should tell every non-native English student about writing and speaking.
On one side of the ocean, Winston Churchill said: “Never use a pound (£) word when a penny (1d) one will do”....
And a similar saying known to Americans:
K. I. S. S. = Keep It Simple, Stupid.
