The English Language

The English Language:

Before reading, do not get this preconceived notion that I do not like my job. I love my job, and I love writing. These are just my views in regards to interpreting the English language. It just happens that my job serves as a good example because of the encounters I have had.

I am sure many of you have heard that the English Language is difficult to learn, especially if it is not your first language. Many native English speakers will also agree that it is not easy for them either. Language itself is very subjective because everyone has interprets words, phrases, etc. differently.

My current occupation consists of writing references. This is not an exact definition of my job, so let me break it down for you.

• We have a candidate for our position.
  
• The candidate needs references to get the position or an interview with our client.
  
• He or she provides us with one to three names to contact. Once we have that information, we send them a form via fax or e-mail. Occasionally, the reference asks to complete the form by phone.
  
• After we have the completed form, we will type up the reference in a professional format.
  

Many of you may be wondering, what does she mean by professional format? Our client pays us to help them fill their open positions, whether it is for an executive or a physician. Since they are paying us money to perform this service, they expect us to carry out our due diligence. Rather than receiving a reference stating the word “Excellent” throughout the entire reference, we put it into a full sentence. A couple of examples would be, “he is an excellent communicator” or “she would perform exceptionally well as a medical director.”

Here’s the fun part about deciphering what’s being stated throughout this form: you never know what the person is trying to get across. Some people feel “good” means excellent, and others feel “good” means fair, but not poor. It varies from person to person, and the only way to understand this person is by talking to them directly. Even then, it can be difficult to put it on paper.

The audience/reader(s) could even interpret the message differently. Let me give you a scale as an example. The scale is based on 1 through 5, with 5 being the highest.

5= Excellent
4 = Above Average
3 = Average or Meets Expectations
2 = Below Average
1 = Poor

Some view “3” as not up to par, whereas others view it is a good ranking. Then, you have people who feel “4” is not meeting their expectations because they feel that everyone has to be “5s.”

My question is why? As humans, we want to be able to understand everything, but we also tend to make things more difficult on ourselves. Being an analytical person, I understand that I can misinterpret statements, feelings, etc. I have made several attempts to learn how to let this go; why should I read into things too much.

Everyone wants things to be perfect in their own way. However, the world, people, language and life will never be perfect. Why not just enjoy the English language and not over analyze what the true meaning is for every word. Each individual is always going to interpret every word differently.