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I am originally from the Philippines and I work as an editor for a research center in Germany. I also speak Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, but for all intents and purposes English is my first language. I can honestly say I cannot remember a time when I didn't speak English, and I have built a solid career on my language abilities that I couldn't achieve with Filipino. Yet no matter how qualified and skilled I am as an editor, I find myself constantly defending and justifying my sociolinguistic background. People at work have said rather unkind things like "I'm surprised they hired a Filipino for this job" or "But English really isn't your native language, right?" or "But your Filipino is still much better than your English, right?" Others have asked my co-editors to go over my work and would only accept my edits upon verification by my British and American colleagues. Worst case scenario would be explicitly asking my boss not to pass on their draft manuscripts to me. Usually I shrug these incidents off, but lately it has begun to weigh me down. I love editing and would love to stay in this field, but I'm afraid I will never be good enough because of something I have zero control over.

Before this post turns into a pity party, I would like to hear from you--both native and non-native speakers--about your views on varieties of English from post-colonial countries (e.g., Singapore, Malaysia, Jamaica, Nigeria etc). Maybe this can help me understand the reactions I've gotten.

iamnarra
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    FWIW, your written English is excellent. Having a command of more than one language is an accomplishment that no one should diminish. You know what you call a person who speaks more than one language? Bilingual. You know what you call a person that speaks one language? An American! lol! – Kristina Lopez Nov 17 '15 at 22:09
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    It's not directly relevant which country you were born/brought up in. Precise definitions may vary, but essentially you're a "native speaker" of the primary language you used to interact with your peers (not so much your parents, if they're immigrants who've never mastered the language of their new host country) before you were about 8 years old. – FumbleFingers Nov 17 '15 at 22:13
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    @FumbleFingers I have yet to find a definition that takes into account the experiences of post-colonial countries. We grew up immersed in English-language media and educated almost entirely in English (even our judicial system is in English), yet we either speak our "native" language to our peers or code switch between the native language and English. – iamnarra Nov 17 '15 at 22:27
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    @iamnarra: Statistically it may well be that "post-colonial" countries have a relatively high proportion of the populace who can use the language of the erstwhile invaders (who may still remain in significant numbers, and whose language may actually still be the/a "official language" of the nation). But I don't think that makes much difference - all that matters is the language you normally used to communicate with your peers when you were a child (which would probably not be English unless the vast majority of those other children *only* spoke English). – FumbleFingers Nov 17 '15 at 22:36
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    Related: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/14582/meaning-of-native-speaker-of-english –  Nov 17 '15 at 23:18
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    Practically speaking (based on what I've heard and read here and elsewhere), some people from India, for instance, would not be considered to speak as "native English speakers". It's not clear to what extent this is due to a difference in the "formal" version of the English language in (eg) India, due to forming a "creole" of English and a native Indian language, and/or due to the speaker simply having acquired a local dialect. (And I certainly do not intend to imply that natives of India speak English poorly as a rule. I have seen nowhere near enough information to make such a judgment.) – Hot Licks Nov 17 '15 at 23:44
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    Each of the colonies has its own accent and idiosyncracies. Most people in the world ascribe more 'authenticity' to accents that are spoken in countries that are populated more by the colonizers (the Brits) rather than the colonized (also when there are fewer speakers of competing languages). Singlish, Indian English, Caribbean English, and Filipino English are not considered 'standard'. That's most likely why your German coworkers may be second guessing you. – Mitch Nov 18 '15 at 00:08
  • The others have covered the English side of your question well, and I agree with them. Based on what you have written here, there is no problem with your written English, and your boss agrees. The problem is with the firm's German clients. You don't say how long you have worked for the firm, whether you have personal contact with the clients, whether your colleagues respect your work....the questions you quote might only be because your colleagues are curious (and impressed) as to how anyone could be fluent in languages as different as English and Filipino. – ab2 Nov 18 '15 at 01:30
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    Take a look at The Workplace SE. You've gotten the English answer to your question. Maybe you need to reformulate your concerns into a Workplace question. Caution: "You need to make sure that your question is sufficiently different .....just reposting the same question on different sites is against overall SE policy and that your question is on-topic..." quoted from the Answer to http://meta.english.stackexchange.com/questions/7262/what-is-the-etiquette-on-moving-a-question-from-another-site-to-this-one – ab2 Nov 18 '15 at 01:36
  • @Mitch I don't have a "Filipino" accent, and even if I did I don't have enough face-to-face contact with our postdocs (our main "clients") for it to make a difference. I guess the question now would be whether World English should be the standard, especially for fields as diverse as academia, where non-native speakers outnumber native speakers. I have had people walk past me and go straight for my British and American colleagues because they want their text to read "like a native speaker". – iamnarra Nov 18 '15 at 06:20
  • @ab2 I've been with the research center for almost three years. My co-editors definitely respect my work, but our main clients are our postdoc fellows and we tend to get a new one every other month. Perhaps you are right, but it does get exhausting having to explain why my English is "so good" every time I meet someone new. But that's a discussion for Workplace SE I guess, thanks for the heads up! – iamnarra Nov 18 '15 at 06:21
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    Since you say you have no accent (and few hear it first anyway)and your supervisor approves of your work, this sounds like your personal experience is different from the language question. The post-docs are probably judging on superficial appearances and expectation (one's first language is usually one's best; they don't know your personal history). – Mitch Nov 18 '15 at 13:29
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    This sounds like a question better asked (with some editing to make it be about how you can deal with this) on [workplace.se]. For what it's worth, as a native speaker of two lanaguages whose best language is English despite not having been raised in an English-speaking country, I know how you feel. I've had similar crap levelled at me by people who speak no language except English and yet manage to speak it very badly. That's their problem, not yours. – terdon Nov 18 '15 at 13:57

2 Answers2

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You live in a country where English is widely spoken and you have spoken it since childhood. Your question above is written in perfectly good English. I think you meet the definition of a "native speaker".

Different countries have different dialects. British English is not quite the same as American English which is not quite the same as Indian English. Frankly I have no idea what Filipino English is like. But arguably being a "native Filipino English speaker" is not the same as being a "Native British English speaker". For most purposes such differences don't matter much. I suppose for an editor that might be an issue.

In any case, the relevant qualification for an editor should surely be that he be fluent in the language, whether he is a native speaker or not. If someone from Russia has studied the language extensively for many years and speaks and writes excellent English, while a native American is poorly educated and totally inarticulate, which would you rather have for an editor? I'd try to shift the discussion from "am I a native speaker" to "am I a fluent speaker". If others can point out frequent flaws in your grammar or spelling, then it doesn't matter whether you meet some definition of a native speaker or not. Likewise if your grammar and spelling are impeccable, it again doesn't matter whether you qualify as a native speaker.

Jay
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    Thanks for the insights! My boss, the person who hired me, couldn't care less where I'm from or which variety of English I speak. As part of the hiring process, she made me do an editing test and decided based on that that I am the best fit for the position. So at least I have her vote of confidence. Unfortunately a lot of our German clients put a premium on British English because it's the "original" English. I cannot compete with that and there's literally nothing I can do about it. I just hope that bias doesn't hurt my career chances in this field in the long run. – iamnarra Nov 17 '15 at 22:36
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    OP: Yes, well, (1) I doubt seriously that contemporary British English is closer to the English it is derived from than is contemporary American English (or Irish English or...). Likewise, contemporary French from France vs that from Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland,... (2) Some of those who are from the same territory from which a language originated are convinced that theirs is the "original" or the "true" English, French, German, or whatever. They are snobs, fools, or simply ignorant of evolution. – Drew Nov 18 '15 at 01:27
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The Oxford Dictionary Online defines a native speaker as:

  • A person who has spoken the language in question from earliest childhood: native speakers of English.

and other dictionaries give similar definitions. There is no reference to ethnicity or nationality.