This week, MGE and International House convened for our weekly meetings where we exchange various intercultural subjects, this time to discuss the spread of colonization through English and Spanish. Within the span of only two hours, we tackled various challenging but necessary questions together. Presenting first was the IHouse group, which discussed the erasure of indigenous languages in Mexico through the dissemination of Spanish. During this presentation, we practiced our Spanish listening skills with a lively exercise in which we listened to and identified a variety of Spanish dialects. With this exercise we explored the vast diversity of dialects and phrases within the Spanish language; a direct result of the myriad colonization and migration patterns in Latin America. Following this discussion, we moved onto the advantages and disadvantages of the spread of colonization through English, led by some students from CGEE.

In my group, I noticed that the majority of the CGEE students maintained a negative perception of the international spread of English. Many of us associated the dissemination of English with a hegemonic concept among Americans that those entering the United States should only arrive if they know English. On the contrary, the IHouse students discussed the spread of English, not as a burden, but rather as a tool which can be utilized to build stronger social connections, seek better job opportunities, and pursue international cultural experiences. As a group, we ultimately reached the consensus that we’d be conducting an incomplete analysis of this question without considering the complex factors that drive many Spanish speakers to acquire the English language.

Divided in our groups we discussed the significance of the connections that languages can bridge despite its history of colonization. We questioned why it was easier for us to critique the spread of colonizing languages than critique our own failure to take active steps towards reclaiming our indigenous languages. Those of us trained in the social sciences are perpetually urged to think critically but at times these patterns of thought fall into idealism which clouds our perception of multi-dimensional issues. While idealism is not an inherently negative concept, it can lead us astray from reality particularly when we imagine idealistic societies from a U.S.-centered perspective. In the process of essentializing the spread of English as oppressive, we dismissed the structural issues which make the acquisition of English for some as simple as a means for survival.  The poignant perspectives we exchanged together on this subject highlight the importance of continuously engaging in intercultural dialogues in Mexico and the power in translating our academic knowledge of complex subjects into substantive and concrete lessons.