HELLO! I FEEL INSECURE SPEAKING ENGLISH. BUT STICKING TO URDU MAKES ME URDU-MEDIUM! WHAT DO I DO?
Our colonized mindset makes us believe that we cannot pursue our dreams if we don’t know English. We are told that we cannot work at high offices or do good jobs because there is no ‘grip’ on the language.
Authored By Shanzeh Jalali
Humans have choices; that is what makes us on top of the food chain. English, like any other language, needs practice. No man is born into this world speaking a particular language. Yet, far too often, we succumb to the English superiority complex.
This usually starts at school; when the kid who has a higher vocabulary and can speak coherent sentences is a bully to the ones who can’t. The child is constantly told poor things which automatically makes him believe that he is inferior and it sticks. Knowing Urdu doesn’t make you uneducated and speaking it does not give the right for anyone to make you feel less. Urdu is a beautiful language, it has a rich background, it made the pen’s of Ghalib and Faiz thrive, it touched our hearts, and is a part of our culture.
So what if you know urdu better than English? But if you still want to be fluent in English, practice! Practice! Practice! There is nothing better than training yourself and having determination.
Here are some things you can do to make your English better
Read the newspaper loudly
Watch shows or movies in English
Try journaling in English
Whenever you get the chance to, show off your skills!
Don’t mind what people have to say.
Track your progress
Make an account on Duolingo
PRACTICE
Don’t give up
Surely, Western culture has made us slaves of their rules and values, leading us astray from our roots. Mocking us as brown because we did not look as pale as them or making fun of our language not knowing how rich and fruitful it is, they made the colonized not like who they are, who they had been for centuries.
Having a liking to learn new things or to be better in a particular area is alright, it is a part of being a human and a part of growing. Nevertheless, thinking you are inferior in a crowd only because of your tongue, skin color, and how you dress up is not your fault but the fault of the white supremacists who had the world under their control not too long ago. Be proud of who you are. Remember that no one can truly be who you are except for you.