Losing my native language

[Jonluw]

Hiya escapists.

I've been using English a lot lately. When I read something online, or post something on these forums, it is mostly in English. I neither write nor read a lot in my mother tongue.

Spoiler: Spoilered for neat-ness

Having to use English on the internet, when watching TV, and when playing videogames has really improved my English. Now that's all fine and good, but recently I've found that when I try to lead a conversation more complex than just casual everyday talk in my native language, I have trouble phrasing myself without resorting to English words and expressions; and when talking I sometimes begin a sentence, only to find I can't finish it, because I was using the English sentence structure.

Do any of you have personal experience with this kind of phenomena?

This little problem of mine leads me to what I would like to discuss with you (in addition to my situation that is): Do you think the world should ultimately have one, and only one, language shared by all its inhabitants, or do you prefer the diversity?

Personally, I think the world would flow a lot better with only one language; but I am far too much of a romantic to let all the different languages out there die.

Edit: My native language is Norwegian, if anyone cares.

Edit: I sometimes catch myself thinking in English. This, I find very strange.

 

[Banana Phone Man]

Well seeing as my native language is English I can't say that I'm loosing it. Like you said, with playing games, reading manga, subbed anime etc etc it's all in English. Although I might sometimes use poor english innit. That I'm a little guilty of sometimes.

I would like there to be one universal language, that's mainly out of my stubborness to learn others. It would cause and fix many problems. For instence, you would have no need for translators ever again which can help a lot of people. What will those translators do? There are probably quite a lot of them and they would have no need of their tallents as a multi liguist. School education, we would have no need to learn other languages but what about the teachers that teach them now. In my perfect world I would like only 1 language but I'm fine with how it is.

 

[MikailCaboose]

While it would be great to have only one global language, I don't think it will work at all. First, you have to consider that the dominant language of different countries is the language that their political documents are written in. Changing that would be expensive, and very difficult. Then, people will be stubborn and cling to old languages based on traditional values, which would ruin the entire point of a single global language.

It's an appealing thought, but I don't think it would ever really work in practice.

 

[FamoFunk]

If I remember correctly someone years ago (a lot of yours ago) tried making a universal language... as we can see from today, it was a fail and didn't work.

 

[Ekonk]

If I remember correctly someone years ago (a lot of yours ago) tried making a universal language... as we can see from today, it was a fail and didn't work.

Happened multiple times in fact. Artificial languages never get of the ground because no one wants to learn it.

 

[ImprovizoR]

That happens to me sometimes. I want to say something but I forget the word in my native language so I use English word. I can't say that I like that.

 

[Sacman]

I spoke fluent Spanish until I was 5 and than after that I couldn't even say one word it was really quite perplexing...

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

My native language is English. So i can never really lose it, i can however learned several other languages to speak in addition to English.

 

[Dublin Solo]

Yes, it happens to me also. But I found out that reading a book in my native tongue, or listening to the radio, kinda reverts all the damage done. Funny how the brain works!

As for one global language, I vote for newspeak.

 

[Queen Michael]

Well seeing as my native language is English I can't say that I'm loosing it.

That's "losing" it. Sorry, but I just had to say it.

Me, yeah, it happens to me now and then, which is why I try to keep reading in Swedish to keep up the language. Or as we say in Swedish: "På svenska kallas Batman för Läderlappen, ia lla fall förr!"

 

[Cowabungaa]

That happens to me sometimes. I want to say something but I forget the word in my native language so I use English word. I can't say that I like that.

Same here, but I don't mind it at all. I really don't give a damn about my mothertongue, which is Dutch, and I'd be perfectly alright with it if I would never have to speak that awful language again.

Sadly my English isn't good enough, in my opinion, to be my first language. My dad gives me the shits about it too.

As for the question in the OP; I quite like variation in languages, but I wouldn't mind it if everyone would learn English as their second language. I clearly remember our holidays in France...

 

[Quaxar]

Yeah, it's funny I constantly think "man, that sentence would really need some English words for emphasis" but instead I have to think of other ways to say it. It's bugging me a bit, but seeing as I'm planing to move to an English-speaking country anyway it may not be that bad.

As for one global language, I vote for newspeak.

Doubleplusgood idea!

 

[zHellas]

Well seeing as my native language is English I can't say that I'm loosing it.

That's "losing" it. Sorry, but I just had to say it.

Me, yeah, it happens to me now and then, which is why I try to keep reading in Swedish to keep up the language. Or as we say in Swedish: "På svenska kallas Batman för Läderlappen, ia lla fall förr!"

How do you pronounce the "a" with a circle above it?

 

[Queen Michael]

Well seeing as my native language is English I can't say that I'm loosing it.

That's "losing" it. Sorry, but I just had to say it.

Me, yeah, it happens to me now and then, which is why I try to keep reading in Swedish to keep up the language. Or as we say in Swedish: "På svenska kallas Batman för Läderlappen, ia lla fall förr!"

How do you pronounce the "a" with a circle above it?

Like the "o" in "lord". "Lård" is how a Swede would spell it.

 

[subject_87]

Well, Esperanto was about to take off, but France shot it down, because they thought French should be the worldwide language. It wasn't helped by the fact that it was also demonized by Hitler and Stalin.

 

[The Cookie Cruncher]

Well my Icelandic isn't all that special after being on the internet for so long. And video games helped me get better at English, and music, and just about everything media related.
I can safely say that my English is better than my Icelandic.

 

[Banana Phone Man]

Well seeing as my native language is English I can't say that I'm loosing it.

That's "losing" it. Sorry, but I just had to say it.

Yeah, my spelling has always been bad (I would put atrocious/atrosious/atroceious but yeah, I would have to check my spelling every time). I got that from the Op's thread name. Still after 16 years of living I can't spell simple words right. :/

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

Strangely, my original language was Vietnamese. Forgot that completely though.

 

[superbatranger]

I use English and Spanish so much I doubt I'd ever forget them.