It looks like English
The article I read is called “It looks like English but
stinks like a fish…it must be Engfish” and is about a common mistake we all
make. That mistake is “Engfish” this word describes the confusing word choices
that make a piece of writing ambiguous; the piece of writing will fail to make
a point. College students tend to use this type of language when writing
essays. Instead of using common words that express their point clearly, they
end up using large academic words that get lost in translation. The emotion
that comes along with writing gets lost in this type of language. In the
article, the Instructor who is speaking about “Engfish” claims that the use of
it is to be blamed on the way English is taught to students throughout their
educational experience. It’s the fault of the instructors, the institutions,
and the textbooks because they are encouraging more mechanical correction of
writing in a very stiff form. I have to agree as a student and throughout my
educational career. I myself was encouraged to focus on the mechanics of
writing rather than the emotional content of writing. It wasn’t until a college
course that I was encouraged to take more risks with content, feeling, and the
character of my writing. Of course mechanics are still enforced but in a very
different way. Ken Macrorie the professor who coined “Engfish” goes on to say that
students essentially are producing what they think teachers want rather than
producing a lively piece of writing, and that in the end no one is really
winning. I found this interesting because as a student tutor I come across
papers all the time that have ambiguous language. A better approach to writing
is to seal it with a “KIS” (keep it simple) this way we are able to produce
clear and concise writing. We can never fully move away from the use of
“Engfish” because it’s been embedded in our brains as a way of writing;
however, we can become more mindful of it as we approach writing. I myself try
to encourage students to focus on the content of the essay first and worry
about grammar at the very end of the assignment. I feel as a tutor and a
student that becoming more aware of and straying away from “Engfish” will help
us develop more as writers.
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