| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Is it possible to lose your mother tongue? Thread poster: SO British
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| Not possible from a certain age onwards | Jun 6, 2014 |
Language is a competence you acquire automatically in your childhood. A language you have been using as your mother tongue for some years as a child is a language you cannot really shake off. It becomes parts of your thoughts and your own self. This natural acquisition of language has been one of the main topics of linguistics over the last fifty years or so.
| | | | | depends what you mean by "loss" | Jun 6, 2014 |
My experience is that, when you do not live in the country of your original language, you don't forget it but your language tends to become stilted. It's not the first language you think in. Interestingly, it often remains the language you count in in your head!
While living in another country, you follow the latest developments, keep pace with recent events, etc. and often find that you don't even know the equivalent terms in your original mother tongue. Computer science is a typical exa... See more My experience is that, when you do not live in the country of your original language, you don't forget it but your language tends to become stilted. It's not the first language you think in. Interestingly, it often remains the language you count in in your head!
While living in another country, you follow the latest developments, keep pace with recent events, etc. and often find that you don't even know the equivalent terms in your original mother tongue. Computer science is a typical example: if you only started using computers in the 'other' country, you may no idea of the names of the commands in your basic language.
I met a Brit living in Switzerland the other day who told me he can only type on a German keyboard, for instance.
Culturally also you can be overtaken by events. The trick is to read a lot in your first language, for example to read a news magazine or newspaper from cover-to-cover once a week. Radio and TV are other godsends. Obviously this applies to any language you work with but it is vital in the particular case at issue.
Of course, if you are an interpreter, you have more opportunities to practice both (or all) your languages..... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | One langauge CAN replace another | Jun 6, 2014 |
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
Language is a competence you acquire automatically in your childhood. A language you have been using as your mother tongue for some years as a child is a language you cannot really shake off. It becomes parts of your thoughts and your own self. This natural acquisition of language has been one of the main topics of linguistics over the last fifty years or so.
I'm afraid I don't agree.
Some years ago I discussed the subject with someone I know and we decided that we could understand written English without any difficulty at all, we could write in English and we could understand spoken English most of the time. However, when it comes to having a fluent conversation, it's a lot more difficult! The words don't come naturally, you have to search for them.
I usually find myself thinking in Spanish and I have to make a conscious effort to think in English. I think the reason is that my thoughts are usually associated to my day-to-day life and because I only ever hear and speak Spanish and Catalan, I tend to think in those languages.
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Helena Chavarria wrote:
I spend at least 10 minutes day reading online news articles and what my family and friends have posted on Facebook and Twitter. There you go, do you say ON Facebook or IN Facebook?
I admit I still get my prepositions mixed up!
 I am an English native speaker and live in an English-speaking country, and once in a while I find myself repeating a phrase, first with one preposition, then another, to make sure I get the right one!
PS You can also say "what my friends have tweeted" - I don't use Twitter myself but hear that one a lot.
[Edited at 2014-06-06 14:41 GMT]
[Edited at 2014-06-06 14:41 GMT]
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Children can lose their first language altogether. Teenagers and young people and perhaps even older folks can change dominant language, which is not the same as first or mother language.
As regards correctness and appropriateness, modern linguistics falls victim of sloppy thinking and naivete in holding native speakers out to be the pinnacle of perfection in a language. Most native speakers of any language would probably struggle to survive rigorous C2-le... See more Children can lose their first language altogether. Teenagers and young people and perhaps even older folks can change dominant language, which is not the same as first or mother language.
As regards correctness and appropriateness, modern linguistics falls victim of sloppy thinking and naivete in holding native speakers out to be the pinnacle of perfection in a language. Most native speakers of any language would probably struggle to survive rigorous C2-level testing. Most writers and speakers are sloppy to a varying extent, and very few use excellent grammar and syntax. 'Excellent' still does not mean 'perfect', which essentially does not exist. From there matters can take a turn for the worse through disuse of one's own language and exposure to other languages. ▲ Collapse
| | | | xxLecraxx (X)
Germany
Local time: 07:45
French to German
+ ...
Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz wrote:
As regards correctness and appropriateness, modern linguistics falls victim of sloppy thinking and naivete in holding native speakers out to be the pinnacle of perfection in a language. Most native speakers of any language would probably struggle to survive rigorous C2-level testing.
C2 tends to be a bit overrated. Everyone with an academic background, and provided he prepares the test, will be able to pass a C2 test in his own mother tongue. It's not THAT difficult, even though it is a pretty high level for a foreign language, of course. But having C2 doesn't mean to be better than a native speaker or to be something like a second Shakespeare or Goethe.
| | | | | My experience | Jun 6, 2014 |
Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz wrote:
Children can lose their first language altogether. Teenagers and young people and perhaps even older folks can change dominant language, which is not the same as first or mother language.
I think that is basically what happened to me. I spent the majority of my time in German preschool and playing with my German speaking friends, and relatively little time exposed to English. Even though I was very young when we moved back to the US, almost 5 years old, my English has always felt clumsy, especially when I speak. I feel much more comfortable speaking and writing in Spanish.
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