Third Cultures

While human rights can be widely agreed upon in principle and this enables cooperation among the many countries that have promised to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, disagreement often arises about how to implement rights in practice. In some parts of Asia, for instance, many people feel that economic security, including the right to have a job or a home, is more important than the right to engage in free speech or political activity. Many Europeans, on the other hand, would argue that economic security depends on the right to speak freely or take part in political activities. 

When it comes to language rights, there is an even wider spread of opinion. Like human rights, language rights can be personal, because everyone's individual experience of learning and using languages is different. On the other hand, language is a community rather than an individual activity, so when we discuss language rights we tend to think of the rights of communities. But not all people in a community have the same needs. For some people, language choice is mostly a cultural matter, affecting the books and newspapers we read, the kind of education we receive or the way we view other people and are viewed by them. But for some people language can be a major barrier that affects where and how we live and earn a living.

I was reminded about the different levels on which our lives are affected by language after reading two news articles recently about the problems encountered by Asians raised in foreign countries who they find themselves living in their 'home' country.

The first article, by Pawara Laothamatas on the Coconuts news and lifestyle site

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/features/third-culture-kid-like-thai-not-really/ focuses on young Thais back in Thailand after spending most of their lives overseas. To other Thais they look Thai, and to some extent they speak Thai. But they do not behave the same as most of the Thais around them. And they often speak English with each other, or mix English into their Thai.

Pawara, who was raised in Canada, says that other Thais look at her strangely when she speaks English to Thai friends who have also lived overseas. Even her sister tells her it is "unnatural" to chat to Thai people in English. She and her friends often get called "farang kids" even though they are not really farang (foreigners). She prefers to call herself a "third culture kid" and to see the advantages of having access to more than one language and culture. But there are also disadvantages.

If a "farang kid" switches to English when they forget the Thai word for something, other people may see them as arrogant. For the speaker it may be quite natural to code-switch (switch between two or more languages during the same conversation). But code-switching is not always so simple. Different languages have different cultural, social and economic associations. So in Thailand, Thai is generally the language of Thai culture, religion and national pride. English is for dealing with foreigners and foreign matters. So Thais who use it may be thought of as not completely Thai, or pretentious, or super rich.

For people like Pawara, then, language is an important factor in her identity and in the way others look at her. But for some Asians, language differences have more basic consequences. 

The second article, by Hannah Beech in the New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/11/world/asia/cambodia-deportees-trump.html discusses the problem of Cambodians raised in the United States who find themselves living against their will in Cambodia, many of them unable to speak the Khmer language. Beech focuses on people who had lived most of their lives in America as legal residents but got deported after committing a crime. According to American law, non-citizens can be deported for a range of crimes, including theft and tax fraud.

Khan Hin, for example, went to America as a baby and has known no other country. His parents were political refugees and he was born in a refugee camp. But at the age of 18 he was arrested for car theft and after serving five years in prison he was sent to Cambodia. Ricky Kul was deported after being jailed for burglary. Neither man knew Cambodia or spoke Khmer. And unlike the Thais in the previous article, their families were poor.

It may be hard to understand why their parents did not apply for them to become US citizens, and it may be difficult to sympathise with people who have committed crimes. But as Beech explains, most Cambodian refugees were poor and had to work very hard when they got to America, so many of them never learned to speak English and knew little about how to apply for citizenship. And they probably never expected their kids to get involved in crime. But refugees often live in parts of cities where crime levels are high, and their children may join gangs and get into trouble, especially if they experience economic problems or racial discrimination.

In addition to suddenly finding themselves in a country that they do not know, and far from the family and friends they left behind in America, non-Khmer-speaking 'Cambodians' have few job opportunities. Some manage to find work connected with English. Ricky, for example, runs a bar that is popular with foreigners. English-teaching is another possibility for some, but not if they still have the tattoos of the gangs they had joined in America.

Cambodia has been worried about the rising number of deportations under President Trump. A few months ago it refused to accept any more deportees, claiming that the US was committing human rights abuses. But it was forced to start accepting them again after America threatened to make it more difficult for Cambodians to visit the US.

In Thailand, meanwhile, the government seems to recognise that there are growing numbers of Thais for whom English is more useful than Thai. As a lecturer from Srinakhrinwirot University explained to me, although English is now an important component of nearly all school aptitude tests, several top universities do not require students to take tests in Thai. It remains to be seen whether Thais who do not speak Thai, and Cambodians who do not speak Khmer, will thrive as a third culture or suffer as a distrusted minority.