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July Member of the Month: Richard Blaisdell

July Member of the Month: Richard Blaisdell

July 8, 2014

Our July Member of the Month is Richard Blaisdell from Kansas City, Missouri. Richard has been a member of U.S. English since 2005. Here is his story of how living abroad helped give him new perspective on the importance of language as a unifying force:

“The idea that English is just too hard to learn, so ‘I will get along with my own language’ is very limiting.  I lived outside the USA for four years, working on an international power plant project in Indonesia.  All the documents were in English, which helped me. But, day-to-day living was all in Bahasa Indonesia language or some local dialect.  While I could get along by using English only, I soon learned that knowing some of the local language was very helpful.  It was more than just knowing the language, it was being able to fit in with the people around the office.  It was being accepted as part of the work force.  It was being treated as a human being and not just another piece of office furniture.  It was a feeling of being part of the daily life as opposed to just being there.  My whole psyche improved as my proficiency in Bahasa Indonesia improved.

“As a 50 year old adult, my ability to learn a new language was not very fast.  But, I did get the point of being able to hold a simple conversation.  I never tried to read and write.  I just wanted to talk to people.  My proficiency was never the strongest.  I learned the way a two year old learns English: just listen carefully and repeat.   Verbal rote was used for centuries to pass along knowledge.  I just did the same thing as I learned Bahasa Indonesia. 
 
“Indonesia became a nation in 1946.  The islands that make-up Indonesia today were under various European colonial occupation.   In World War II, the whole area was controlled by the Japanese.  As the war came to an end, the United Nations agreed to the formation of the Indonesian nation.  The nation is made-up of several hundred islands.  Many of the tribes on the islands had their own language.  But as a part of the nation formation, a single unifying language was chosen for all government action.  Bahasa Indonesia was selected to be used.  It was a way to pull all the cultures together under one flag.  Indonesia is about the same physical size as the continental USA and close to the same population.  The single national language is one of the unifying forces that hold the islands together day. The USA could learn a lot by looking at the history and development of Indonesia as a modern nation.”

Our Member of the Month program was created so the 1.8 million members of U.S. English have the opportunity to share their personal stories—of why they support U.S. English and why they believe learning English is so important. If you would like to share your thoughts for supporting English as the official language of the United States, please email [email protected].


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