Pragmatic English versus Perfect English
Being a person of an Arabic origin and having a belief that I can speak a perfect English I found it astonishing when I am reminded that my English is pragmatic. This ascription results from the ideology that only English Native speakers can understand and speak the language fluently. Out of this perception pragmatic language is only embraced within the organizational context and it if is attributable to the non-native English speaker only.
As Bailey, Canagarajah, Lanc , & Powers (2016) puts it, being non-native English you have to acquire perfect English to qualify for certain positions. For example, Bailey, Canagarajah, Lanc , & Powers in their article noted that Violet found that pragmatic English was restricted within the geographical scale and was acceptable in the workplace. However, the use of perfect English was restricted within the global scale. Additionally, there is a perception that for someone to have successful career he or she must qualify as perfect English speaker.
The above mentioned attitude discredits the non-native English speaker who qualifies as perfect English speakers but are still being referred to as pragmatic English speakers. For example, having being a teacher in Arabic nation for over ten years does not qualify me as perfect English speaker. I cannot solely argue that I am a perfect language speaker because of the social context where I was practicing my career. However, the perception that prefect English is a global language has influenced many Saudi Arabians to acquire it.Having stayed with English Native speakers both in the United States and now in Australia, I have developed a negative attitude towards my experience with them. Perfect English entails understanding the little details that the pragmatic English language speakers do not know. This impression has made it difficult for me to associate with the native language speakers. This attitude can be attributed to Bailey, Canagarajah, Lanc , & Powers (2016) argument that there is a psychological barrier that exists between the pragmatic and perfect English speakers