forgetting your own language?
By SomeCowgirl
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
United States
September 5, 2012 12:55pm CST
I rememeber years ago, I don't even remember how long ago, hearing about a girl whom forgot her own language. I think she was abducted at a sort of young age and was moved to another country where she learned that countries language. I am pretty certain it was Spanish. In any case she was finally found but had to learn her own language again.
Either that or it was something else, but either way she had to learn English, which was her language again.
I want to learn several different languages, but one of my fears is forgetting my own. I doubt that will happen as I live in the USA, we speak English here as one of the main languages, and so I'd have to speak it with people daily.
As I said before, I want to know Dutch, Spanish and Italian as well. I found a website that I want to get the materials off of, and most likely will once I have the funds to do so, but it's not on my "get this done Soon" list.
Have you heard the story I mentioned, or one similar?
3 responses
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
5 Sep 12
My grand twins spent nearly three years in the Middle East and learnt to speak Arabic very well. They went there when they were three years old so they just absorbed the language. What helped is that their nanny was from Ethiopia and did not speak English well and the twins helped her with her English.
They did not forget their language as it was used at school and with their mother. They are now back home and started school today.
The only way they would have forgotten English was if it was never spoken to them again for some years. I hope they remember the Arabic though as it is a difficult language to speak.
1 person likes this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
5 Sep 12
Maybe you can find someway to help them learn? there may be tapes that would cater to their age group that they could listen to to retain the language. Maybe even a pen pal that speaks Arabic, though that is sort of going out of style, and don't they use symbols?
I definitely think I would not want a child of mine to forget the language they were taught at a young age besides their own mother tongue.
I have a firend whose child is half hispanic, half american, but the child is fluent in both languages because she regularly sees her Spanish Side of the family.
@mrsroxas (78)
• Philippines
5 Sep 12
I think it's the same for children who are brought by their parents abroad and live there. Then when they come back to their homeland to visit relatives they find it difficult to communicate. :) I would love to learn another language, too, like Japanese and Spanish. :)
1 person likes this
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
5 Sep 12
This is very true. I think if I were to have a child and then remove them to another country I would of course allow them to learn the language of the place we now reside, but I would also teach them English, which is my native tongue. I'd want to teach them English second though, depending on how long I planned to stay in that country. If it was ten years, I'd let them learn the language of the country first, then English second. If it was only five years, I'd concentrate more on English then on the language of the country we reside in.
I know a lot more Spanish then anything else but want to be completely fluent in it. Japanese is a lot to learn! Alphabet, Symbols, Language... Wow.
@Memnon (2170)
•
7 Sep 12
I have not heard that specific story, but I have heard of people who have lost the ability to communicate linguistically because they have not spoken to anyone for years. I have some free CDs in Spanish-English. If you like I could send them to you
as data or winzip files?
