aspiringplyglot Triglot Groupie United Kingdom aspiringpolyglot.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4577 days ago 40 posts - 62 votes Speaks: English*, GermanB2, Spanish Studies: Dutch, Esperanto, Polish, Scottish Gaelic, French
| Message 1 of 73 07 November 2013 at 3:42pm | IP Logged |
As I was born in Scotland, I've had a great advantage with regard to communicating with people around the world due to the fact that my native language is English. I feel extremely lucky that I don't have to go through the 'nightmare' of the English learning process (as described to me on many occasions by one of my close Spanish friends).
However, I sometimes wish that my native language were another. Yes, I may have a harder time communicating with different people but with English being so big, what with natives and foreign-language learners alike, English just doesn't seem that special to me.
There are so many people with such a high level of English that I can't 'surprise' them with a funny word or expression, I can't tell them about a good TV show or film (as most of the 'big' and 'popular' examples have generally been translated).
I know these things may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things but something I feel that we, as native English speakers, miss out on.
Any thoughts?
3 persons have voted this message useful
|
tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4707 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish
| Message 2 of 73 07 November 2013 at 3:44pm | IP Logged |
I don't wish my native language to be another. I just think that only having the option
to speak English is poverty. My experience is that speaking something else makes people
more open to you and the efforts you make.
3 persons have voted this message useful
|
pesahson Diglot Senior Member Poland Joined 5728 days ago 448 posts - 840 votes Speaks: Polish*, English Studies: French, Portuguese, Norwegian
| Message 3 of 73 07 November 2013 at 3:51pm | IP Logged |
I'm glad I wasn't born in an English speaking country precisely for the reason that there is so much pressure to learn English, that I had to do it. And because I was quite good at it from an early age, it made me want to learn other languages. I'm not sure whether it would have happened, if I hadn't had that experience with English.
Edited by pesahson on 07 November 2013 at 3:52pm
4 persons have voted this message useful
|
newyorkeric Diglot Moderator Singapore Joined 6379 days ago 1598 posts - 2174 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Mandarin, Malay Personal Language Map
| Message 4 of 73 07 November 2013 at 4:02pm | IP Logged |
I've always feel very fortunate to speak the most important language in the world effortlessly and fluently.
There are many people in this world who have spent hundreds or thousands of hours to learn English not
out of love for the language but for pure necessity and survival. I am reminded of this daily and don't ever
take it for granted.
8 persons have voted this message useful
|
Papashaw Newbie Australia Joined 4103 days ago 28 posts - 32 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin
| Message 5 of 73 07 November 2013 at 4:16pm | IP Logged |
There is no having English as muttersprache, we just say its our native tongue and not our "mother" tongue. And
since it is so prevalent there is a negative association with it of fast food and hollywood, while something such as
German is seen as philosophical and full of character. But in time something else will have its turn.
1 person has voted this message useful
|
aspiringplyglot Triglot Groupie United Kingdom aspiringpolyglot.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4577 days ago 40 posts - 62 votes Speaks: English*, GermanB2, Spanish Studies: Dutch, Esperanto, Polish, Scottish Gaelic, French
| Message 6 of 73 07 November 2013 at 4:17pm | IP Logged |
newyorkeric wrote:
There are many people in this world who have spent hundreds or thousands of hours to learn English not
out of love for the language but for pure necessity and survival. I am reminded of this daily and don't ever
take it for granted. |
|
|
I never take it for granted, and like I said, I'm happy that I speak English effortlessly without having had the need to put in all those hours consciously to learning.
Does English feel special to you though? I mean, due to the large number of people that speak English, it doesn't, for me at least, have a special connection to me. I don't LOVE my native language.
1 person has voted this message useful
|
TehGarnt Diglot Newbie Germany Joined 4852 days ago 33 posts - 63 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish
| Message 7 of 73 07 November 2013 at 4:39pm | IP Logged |
Isn't the problem that it's called "English"?
1 person has voted this message useful
|
aspiringplyglot Triglot Groupie United Kingdom aspiringpolyglot.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4577 days ago 40 posts - 62 votes Speaks: English*, GermanB2, Spanish Studies: Dutch, Esperanto, Polish, Scottish Gaelic, French
| Message 8 of 73 07 November 2013 at 4:46pm | IP Logged |
TehGarnt wrote:
Isn't the problem that it's called "English"? |
|
|
You mean as opposed to Scottish or American or Australian?
2 persons have voted this message useful
|