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Do you always love your 1st? | ||
Tags: First Learned Language | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| BOLIO Senior Member United States Joined 4452 days ago 253 posts - 366 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 24 02 April 2014 at 11:10pm | IP Logged |
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For those who are where many of us want to be, having the ability to speak multiple languages, do you have a special place for your first additional language? I am also really curious hearing from those who had a late start in life with language learning.
Maybe the question should really be about the first language you were not forced to learn through school or family. The first language you learned because you "wanted" to learn. I cannot imagine my 3rd or 4th language having more of an attachment with me than Spanish. Once someone has mastered a language does it lose it's luster with the learner and is no different than a tool to help you complete the task of speaking to more people? Thanks in advance. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| renaissancemedi Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Greece Joined 4152 days ago 941 posts - 1309 votes Speaks: Greek*, Ancient Greek*, EnglishC2 Studies: French, Russian, Turkish, Modern Hebrew | Message 2 of 24 02 April 2014 at 11:31pm | IP Logged |
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I do love English, although I was sent to learn it without being asked. The more I learn it the more I love and appreciate it.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| shk00design Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4238 days ago 747 posts - 1123 votes Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin Studies: French | Message 3 of 24 03 April 2014 at 12:35am | IP Logged |
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My first language is Chinese with English lessons in Chinese. Due to relocation I picked up English
conversation in class. At a certain point my Chinese got a bit weak although our family use the language at home as a mother-tongue but reading and writing became weak. 6-months ago I decided to spend time to pick up the language. Most of it is time-management and changing priorities. Instead of reading newspapers, watching and listening to English broadcasts, more than 40% of the programming is in Chinese. In the beginning English was the 2nd language. Now Chinese is the 2nd language. In the learning process, instead of going through phrase book and repetitions, a lot of learning came from listening to radio discussions, watching TV series & movies. You pick up words & phrases along the way in an interesting and engaging way. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Mutant Groupie United States Joined 3705 days ago 45 posts - 60 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German | Message 4 of 24 03 April 2014 at 1:50am | IP Logged |
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Do I love Spanish most of all? Spanish - the language which was foisted upon me since middle school? The language I almost failed in the fifth grade and had to get outside tutoring in? Spanish - the language I absolutely loathed until I was 16 and finally had a decent teacher? No...I can honestly say that, although I aim for fluency in Spanish, it will never occupy the same place in my heart that, say, German does. Why? Because German actually fascinates me. Spanish is nothing more than a useful tool. A tool I have grown to appreciate more and more, but a tool nonetheless.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| BaronBill Triglot Senior Member United States HowToLanguages.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4483 days ago 335 posts - 594 votes Speaks: English*, French, German Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Persian | Message 5 of 24 03 April 2014 at 2:04am | IP Logged |
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I consider English and Cajun French to be my "native languages". I grew up in Louisiana speaking both at home and with friends. To be honest I don't really like either. I don't speak French any more than I have to to talk to some members of my family and some of my remaining friends in Louisiana.
My first "real" foreign language was German. I LOVE German so much. I have not been able to feel the same for Spanish or Mandarin, although I do enjoy Mandarin quite a bit. There is something about that first language that you learn because you want to that just holds a place in the heart. To me, German will always be my favorite (shhhh, don't tell Mandarin, she gets jealous). 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Lakeseayesno Tetraglot Senior Member Mexico thepolyglotist.com Joined 4128 days ago 280 posts - 488 votes Speaks: English, Spanish*, Japanese, Italian Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 6 of 24 03 April 2014 at 3:25am | IP Logged |
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And here I was, thinking that I was insane for having a special space in my heart for Japanese. Good to know I'm not the only one!
2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| wv girl Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5033 days ago 174 posts - 330 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish | Message 7 of 24 03 April 2014 at 3:58am | IP Logged |
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French was my first love & I believe it will always be my preference. I started it after finishing college because I
wanted to learn it. While I like Spanish & it certainly can be useful here in the US, it just doesn't hold the same place in my heart. Although I started learning Spanish for enjoyment, I had to continue for job security, which made it less appealing, through no fault of its own ... I just didn't have the time & energy in my late 30s to devote to it as I did when I started French at 22. And French never lost it's luster. I was amazed this past summer when I was in France ... I spoke, people understood me, I understood them. For someone from a very monolingual environment, it's just kind of magical. I knew I could speak to my tutor & dear friend, but I could also interact with total strangers! And I just spent the past hour watching Les Revenants without needing much help from subtitles. I've been with French more than 20 years & the thrill still isn't gone! 8 persons have voted this message useful | |
| outcast Bilingual Heptaglot Senior Member China Joined 4743 days ago 869 posts - 1364 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English*, German, Italian, French, Portuguese, Mandarin Studies: Korean | Message 8 of 24 03 April 2014 at 4:52am | IP Logged |
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I can't say that really. The three languages I have been learning all have different aspects that make them special. With German is the structure, the construction of the language that enthralls me. With French it is the fact that it is a Latin language that has been partially "Germanized", and because it is between Spain and England has characteristics of both languages (or should I say, English acquired characteristics of French due to historical events). With Portuguese it is the fact that it is so close to Spanish, it is almost like some parallel universe version of Spanish, or Spanish is a parallel universe version of Portuguese. It is a lot of fun to see how some words got dropped in one language and viceversa, and also the strange false friends. Portuguese in a way is how Spanish used to be in terms of spelling and some grammar aspects, so it is sort of cool because I can see Old Spanish texts and it really does look a lot like Portuguese.
Chinese does captivate my imagination. But there it is the culture and the characters that does it for me more than the language itself. The grammar itself is interesting but nothing that I would consider mesmerizing, just interesting and fun. So out of all four, overall, maybe Chinese by a slight margin, mainly because it is a totally different thing from anything in my culture. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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