Abstract: The three attitudes to learning and use of non-native languages in social communication will be discussed in the article. They are politeness, solidarity and power, which show us the three different feelings and senses on the non-native languages: pleasure, opposition and necessity. These situations and relationships may lead to different effectiveness of learning or use the non-native languages. The author hopes to resolve some problems led by the asymmetrical relationship of opposition or displeasure, or other feelings, suggests to use some teaching methods to avoid the less effectiveness. (100—150 words)
Key words: Non-native languages, asymmetrical, symmetrical, power, solidarity, politeness.
I. Introduction: In daily communication, people are often found to learn or use non-native languages to talk with the non-natives, perhaps who are other provincials or foreigners, in some situations such as schools and colleges, interregional or international conferences, trades, sports games, cultural activities, sciences-technology researches, foreign affairs or daily life, and so on. Some people like to learn or use the non-native languages, but others perhaps do not like to learn or use, and can not communicate with the non-natives smoothly or effectively. In order to solve the problems brought by them, the author will analyze the different causes, discuss the different cases, suggest some methods to remove the barriers and overcome the difficulties, to make people to learn or use the non-native languages effectively and efficiently.
II. Hare the three attitudes or situations and relationships to be analyzed in the following: Politeness, Solidarity and power.
II. 1. Politeness. Those who are active to learn or use the non-native languages show the attitude of politeness to the languages. They have great interests in the languages, cultures, the ways of communication or other things, they respect those things from other lands or districts, want to absorb something useful, new and important to them. By the social, cultural, political or foreign trade, economical connection, or experiences from others, they can develop their own society, communities, districts, or countries. They learn from each other, they do intercultural communications and they gain the mutual respects. And they can develop or establish their capacities, skills, efficient instruments, and so on. All these things may lead a symmetrical relationship between the two sides of the communication.
An investigation is made to show a result that can give some evidence to the description above. A group of 50 college students of English department are asked to write down what they like most to read and talk. In the group , 40 of them , are girls, 10 are boys , that is 80% to 20%. Most of them like to read and talk the English romantic or love novels and stories. Many of them, counting to 48%, like “Jane Eyre”. The less number of them, 30%, like “Gone with the Wind”; 12% like “Wuthering Heights”; 10% “Pride and Prejudice”. The most of the girls in the group have an inclination to read the above fiction. And their English teacher who comes from Britain is a warm reader of Chinese literature, besides of the English. She likes to read and talk A Dream of Red Mansions (《红楼梦》), The Family(《家》), The Thunderstorms(《雷雨》), etc. Whenever she gives lectures, the teacher always talks about the English fiction with the examples from the Chinese literature. She shows the mutual respect and love, promotes the students to love the stories and novels of both languages.
Now there are many people who love and respect Chinese and Chinese literature. A Canadian named 大山 (Dàshān) in Chinese is a very good example to prove that people in the world become more and more to like Chinese, that encourages the Chinese people to learn and use the non-native languages with warm heart, including English.
Another example, the cadres from other provinces and districts work in the undeveloped and developing regions in Tibet in bilingual. They speak Chinese as the Tibetans understand; they speak Tibetan when the Tibetans do not understand Chinese. The cadres serve for the Tibetans, support the Tibetan constructions and development, the Tibetans are grateful to them, love them all and support their work. They learn Tibetan with great interests and love, just as the Tibetans learn Chinese. Thus there is no prejudice, hostility, or discrimination between the two sides. The relationship is a mutual respect and politeness.
II. 2. Solidarity. Those who are unwilling to learn and use the non-native languages have a displeased feeling in their hearts. The decision of learning and use the non-native languages by the educational bureaux or governments make up an opposition and dislike. They may learn or use the non-native languages, they can also refuse to learn or use. The relationship between the two languages is only solidarity. These people can be divided into some groups: The first of them is that those who do not like to learn and use the non-native languages at all, because they are members of a certain race or nation, they have their own language or languages, they do not understand why they are asked to learn and use other race's or nation's language or languages. They think their own language is a wonderful and efficient instrument. It is enough to communicate in their community or province or country. The second of them is that they do not like to learn and use the non-native languages because whenever they learn or use the non-native languages, they have to adapt or adopt another model of thinking formation, a different form of culture and grammar which is contrary to their own prototypes they have accepted in earlier time. So the attitude to the non-native languages is rejection. The third is that they insist that they like to offer their own language or their mother tongue as the international language or the language between the races. If the opposite side likes to learn or use their own language in communication, they do not refuse to learn and use the language of the opposite side. The non-native languages are learned and used only as instrumental ones. In the investigation mentioned above, of the 50 students, there are seven who refuse to say that they like to read and speak English. They take down the books they like most: A Dream of Red Mansions (《红楼梦》), Heroes of the Marshes (《水浒传》), The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (《三国演义》), Record of a Journey to the West (《西游记》), The Complete Works of Lu Xun (《鲁迅全集》).
All the causes that lead people do not like to learn and use the non-native languages are focused on those that they once were the languages of enemies or unfriendly people, nations or races, e.g. Japanese is the language of the Japanese who once sent their army and forces to invade China, seized a large part of China, butchered millions of defenseless Chinese people, robbed Chinese properties and territories, such as Taiwan Islands, in 19th and 20th centuries; English is the language of British and Americans who once fought to Chinese people several times in 19th and 20th centuries, such as the Opium Wars, the Korean War, bombing the Chinese Embassy to Yugoslavia, they compelled China to import opium from British India, seized Chinese territories such as Hong Kong, robbed Chinese properties, butchered thousands of pacific Chinese people. Chinese people hate the invaders, murderers, and robbers, so they hate the Japanese, British and Americans, and they certainly hate to learn and use the enemies' languages. Even now some so-called “scholars” in China and abroad call on to change the Chinese characters into letters, people become sicker of learning and use the non-native languages.