Fanon refers to statements like 'How long have you been in France? You speak French so well' as 'exasperating' (Fanon), and I agree most emphatically. When I was in the U.S., I got the exact comment (just replace 'France/French' with 'America/English') or variations of it all the time. I could not decide which was more pathetic- their pompous assumption that Asians cannot possibly speak 'English so well' without 'be[ing] in [America]', or just their plain ignorance.
On a related but more serious note, Fanon talks about how 'the Negro of the Antilles will be proportionately whiter- that is, he will come closer to being a real human being- in direct ratio to his mastery of the French language', and that this may be applied to the 'broad[er]' context of 'every colonized man' (Fanon). My question is, however, what happens when the person in question is a Singaporean who grew up speaking English, and then goes to Britain for further studies? The case is slightly different here, as the first language in both Singapore and Britain is English- hence not requiring a fundamental shift in 'the entire body of values by which [he] perceive[s himself] and [his] place in the world' (Ngugi wa Thiong'o), that might be required of the 'Negro of the Antilles' (Fanon). A caveat- I do realize that the 'kinds' of English spoken in Singapore and in Britain are rather disparate- but not as drastically so as that of a different language entirely. Where is this Singaporean placed in the context of Fanon's argument?
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i think the Singaporean is placed as always advancing towards a benchmark, a benchmark that is defined and occupied by the white man.
nothing has really changed. no matter how well you can speak the language, there is always some excuse to view you as inferior, even if symbolically. Such as you have single eyelids, or you have yellow skin, or you have less hair on your legs, you eat curry, you don't believe in drinking tea in the afternoons etc.
maybe i am just being pessimistic.
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Excellent Kelly. And with regards to your question: actually the Singaporean is no different from the Antillean described by Fanon -- they also learnt their colonial language as their first language. It's actually exactly the same.
Max- Aiyo but that's so sad- do you believe it'll never be different?
Dr. Koh- Thanks for the clarification! Now my sense of injustice just got multiplied.
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