Every language of the world is fascinating. It is always fun to learn the intricacies of a language be it your own or some other. One of the differences I noticed between the English and Arabic languages is the use of possessive pronouns. In Arabic, when we want to ask the restaurant employee why the food we ordered is taking too long, Saudis usually say: “Where’s the order?” But in English, people invariably say: “Where’s my order?”
At first, this seems like a trivial difference. But it’s actually more meaningful than it looks. As a kid, I always chuckled whenever I heard (English-speaking) adults saying things like “my food,” “my sandwich,” “my pizza,” etc., it sounded so childishly possessive. I was used to myself and other kids saying “my toy” and “my video game,” but seeing the word’s ubiquitousness among the adults was amusing. As I grew up, I just accepted the fact that it’s just part of the English language.
But as I got more interested in world cultures and how they work (especially in contrast to Saudi or Islamic culture), the difference did not seem trivial anymore: It illustrates the possessive, consumerist culture in the western nations — the United States especially.
I was talking about an unrelated matter with a friend once, and during that conversation he recommended a book titled “To Have or To Be?,” by social psychologist Erich Fromm, and I heeded his suggestion. After I started reading, the author’s message intrigued me: People in the West have increasingly become more possessive, more consumerist. One fascinating point the writer mentioned was how everyone referred to everything as theirs: My dentist, my therapist, my sickness, my diet, my medicine, my headache, etc. That was really a remarkable discovery for a person interested in learning about others’ ways of thinking and their impact on daily lives.
I admire some things about western culture. But one thing I wish we never borrow from the West: This intense possessiveness and consumerism. Hopefully, life won’t contradict “my” wish!
