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Post by cathmoi on Dec 14, 2005 7:53:22 GMT -5
Hey everyone,im new here..me= Cath So trying to start a new topic here. I was just wondering if your parents ever tought you their native languages while you where growing up? For eksample, I grew up in Norway,my dad is Norwegian/American and my mum is thai..so of course I spoke Norwegian and later on learned how to speak english in school and so on,but I hardly speak any thai:( My mum never tought me that much..I understand it,but I find it very difficault to speak.)I wish that my mum would have tought me from I was little,so I wouldnt have to struggle to learn it now Im so jealous of many of my EA friends who can speak thai fluently and have no problems switching between speaking thai/norwegian,like my friend Jen( inyaface..lol) her mum only spoke thai with her ever since she was born and would only answer if she spoke thai..now she speaks the language fluently and even reads and writes in thai without even ever living in Thailand! I wish that my mum would have done the same Now that im getting older it's really difficault to get the pronounciation right..no matter how hard I try I only end up sounding like a foreginer trying to speak thai
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Post by helles on Dec 14, 2005 8:33:04 GMT -5
yup.. grew up in HK with my mum speaking cantonese to me and my sister by day and reverting to english when my dad got home from work.. plus, we were close to chinese family and saw them regularly so had to speak chinese to them.
moved to england and my mum took us to chinese school to learn to read/write basic chinese (went to international school in HK, which didnt teach chinese).. hated going on saturdays but am glad now.
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Post by Mr.Kite on Dec 14, 2005 8:46:39 GMT -5
yeh, but my mum had to force my dad to teach me and my sisters malay. i was also taught how to read and write arabic and somehow some1 taught me futhark, the bloody viking alphabet.
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Post by Farmer Moustachio on Dec 14, 2005 8:51:42 GMT -5
yeh, but my mum had to force my dad to teach me and my sisters malay. i was also taught how to read and write arabic and somehow some1 taught me futhark, the bloody viking alphabet. Now that's useful! My parents never taught me either language but somehow i was supposed to learn by osmosis from 5 years of saturday school (to no avail... it's hard to learn when instruction is in another language and you're surrounded by native speakers) Yet somehow i have a flair for languages and speak 2 fluently, and another 2 vaguely! None of which i have any ethnic background in, except french!
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Post by y2j on Dec 14, 2005 9:03:41 GMT -5
Did my parents teach me their language.... Let's see Dad's language yes. Mum's language, not really.... BTW Welcome to EAN, Cath!
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Post by penguinopolipitese on Dec 14, 2005 9:27:40 GMT -5
my mom taught me english and I'm SOOOOO good at it. ;D
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Post by garcia on Dec 14, 2005 9:39:56 GMT -5
My mum went to catholic school in Malaysia, she learned English from British nun's and speaks it well (since they changed teaching protocols, the locals have to tutor their kids in English as a result they have poor command of the language). She has been in england for about 25 years, due to not using any of her diologue's on a regular basis, she has started to loose her mother tongue. (the only Malay friends she has are from the west, my mum is from the east(Borneo) they use different dialects i.e most speak hokkien, my mum only understands bits and pieces). When she went back home, family noted her language was patchy and that she spoke with an 'English accent'. So my answer to the question is no, unfortunately I never learned foreign languages from my parents. (father was not around, but I'm told he spoke a multitude of European dialects) ...and welcome to the forums!
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Post by i move the stars for no one on Dec 14, 2005 10:04:16 GMT -5
i wish.My dad's first language is Samoan,he speaks no Canto.he never taught us,but constantly laments my inability to speak or understand much.My mom was first gen american,yet never learned German,which i studied in school.
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Post by spaswechi on Dec 14, 2005 10:11:48 GMT -5
Hej cath, Im born and raised in Sweden so i can only speak swedish(Göteborska) and some english, my mom is Swedish for the most part(25%spanish) but she learnd to speak cantonese when she was married to my father. I cant speak cantonese and I'll probably never learn , maybe some beutiful day.
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Post by Joolie on Dec 14, 2005 11:36:26 GMT -5
Yeh, both of my parents spoke Cantonese to me since I was a baby. My mom met my dad working as a translator, although she's not the pure Asian one...she was taught to speak conversational Chinese (2-3 different dialects), Vietnamese, French, and English of course. Both of my parents also insisted we participate and speak Chinese at home, around relatives, and at Chinese celebrations/events. So now I speak fluent Cantonese, although I can't read and write because I was enrolled in Chinese school but dropped out after a year. Right now, I can also understand Vietnamese as my parents spoke it to each other at home, along with Cantonese and English. But I can't speak fluent Viet, read or write because parents never spoke to me in Viet, just Cantonese.
I'm grateful to have learned though because I can converse with my Chinese relatives, do simple things like go to Chinatown and not feel stressed or too different.
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Post by muzo on Dec 14, 2005 11:38:05 GMT -5
oh yes i speak german i basically grew up ther... except 4 wen i was smaller we lived in india. YES my mom only speaks tibetan wid us kids, so i understand tibetan perfectly, except wen som1 speaks in some weird north eastern tibetan dialect, oh strange language, it sounds so weird.... the easiest 2 understand 4 me is other TibMuslims cos they speak just like my mom (apparently they speak the "pure" Lhasa dialect) altho wen shes proper upset n angry like hell she starts speakin german to me... this implies "i speak german now becos ur not my son nemore".. lol bless her
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Post by muzo on Dec 14, 2005 11:38:45 GMT -5
my mom taught me english and I'm SOOOOO good at it. ;D funny guy
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Post by mintyfresh_aah on Dec 14, 2005 22:34:18 GMT -5
Mum didn't teach us hokien and in fact she's even taking chinese classes herself now, having forgotten most of it during her long time here in England!
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Post by shugi on Dec 14, 2005 22:48:58 GMT -5
Dad forbade my mother from teaching me Tagalog, I still dont understand why - but i've been slowly learning it by-myself with the help of my cousins & friends.
On a side note Cath kinda looks like Angelina Jolie
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Post by dragan. on Dec 14, 2005 23:16:36 GMT -5
ive learned 1 outta 2. since i was born in serbia i learned the language and theres english since i moved here to canada wen i was 2 and apparently im suppose to be bilingual and know french and english. but that certificate is gonna expire in 2 yrs and i wont bother to recertify it my mom never taught me tagalog, stil dunno why prolly cuz she moved to serbia wit my dad and jus learned serbian there and my parents also know fobby english i agree wit shugi in the angelina jolie comment ;D
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