Thoughts about language
If you have not guessed it by now language is something that fascinates me. I have an insatiable thirst to strengthen and broaden my horizons when it comes to language. I am often asked by English and Spanish speakers 'what's your first language?' My response now depends on my mood. I guess I can take it as a compliment that the person is not sure. It shows absolute fluency, good communication skills, strong vocab etc. in both languages. However, my question is 'why does it matter?'
If you meet someone and you begin to have conversation with him/her, you find interesting topics to discuss, does one's first language matter? In my world, bilingualism is the norm and I think many people in certain parts of Canada and Europe can relate to this. Language skills are not a question of your first, second or third language. It's a matter of survival and nowadays being able to speak more than one language is required for professional reasons. With the EU, I can only imagine how multilingual speakers benefit from the amalgamation. In Europe, the language of the land changes from country to country. This aspect I believe forces most people to be bilingual, multilingual or very open to it. Either adopt or miss the boat.
I can’t envision myself being unilingual. I never was and never will be. I guess it's too late. Being raised in a multilingual environment and educated in three languages at different stages, I have no time to reflect on the order of acquisition. I do have my preferences at times but I noticed it depends on to whom I am speaking. Certain people I speak to in English, my work environment requires bilingualism and in my personal life it's mostly Spanish but once again it depends on my company.
The other aspect that fascinates me is that some people who speak one language feel superior to those who speak many. Isn't that backwards logic? In my experience, many unilingual speakers have not even mastered that particular language but are quick to critique those who are multilingual. Bad grammar and poor sentence structure are usually the key faults. Should these unilingual speakers be correcting others or should they be trying to learn from their own mistakes? A unilingual educated speaker usually can accept that his/ her English or Spanish is somewhat defective but I am not sure about a speaker without a formal education who speaks xxx but has not had the privilege of a good education.
This is just food for thought. My belief is totally the opposite from the traditional "it's my first language so… tengo razón. Sé más que tú". Nonsense! My answer is always 'when was the last time you picked up a grammar book?' You may be surprised to know what you will find out about your language skills. ¡Atrévete!
Chao
ldg.
If you meet someone and you begin to have conversation with him/her, you find interesting topics to discuss, does one's first language matter? In my world, bilingualism is the norm and I think many people in certain parts of Canada and Europe can relate to this. Language skills are not a question of your first, second or third language. It's a matter of survival and nowadays being able to speak more than one language is required for professional reasons. With the EU, I can only imagine how multilingual speakers benefit from the amalgamation. In Europe, the language of the land changes from country to country. This aspect I believe forces most people to be bilingual, multilingual or very open to it. Either adopt or miss the boat.
I can’t envision myself being unilingual. I never was and never will be. I guess it's too late. Being raised in a multilingual environment and educated in three languages at different stages, I have no time to reflect on the order of acquisition. I do have my preferences at times but I noticed it depends on to whom I am speaking. Certain people I speak to in English, my work environment requires bilingualism and in my personal life it's mostly Spanish but once again it depends on my company.
The other aspect that fascinates me is that some people who speak one language feel superior to those who speak many. Isn't that backwards logic? In my experience, many unilingual speakers have not even mastered that particular language but are quick to critique those who are multilingual. Bad grammar and poor sentence structure are usually the key faults. Should these unilingual speakers be correcting others or should they be trying to learn from their own mistakes? A unilingual educated speaker usually can accept that his/ her English or Spanish is somewhat defective but I am not sure about a speaker without a formal education who speaks xxx but has not had the privilege of a good education.
This is just food for thought. My belief is totally the opposite from the traditional "it's my first language so… tengo razón. Sé más que tú". Nonsense! My answer is always 'when was the last time you picked up a grammar book?' You may be surprised to know what you will find out about your language skills. ¡Atrévete!
Chao
ldg.
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