freezeframe
Key Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2011
- Member Type
- Academic
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- Canada
- Current Location
- Canada
When you create a forum profile here, there's a required choice of Native Language from a drop-down menu. You can choose only one and you cannot qualify it.
Usually when people ask me "What is your native language?" I pause and then go with an option that seems least problematic in the situation or with whatever I feel like that day. I don't have just one native language -- my "first" language was acquired simultaneously with another. These languages were used equally around me.
And my native language is different depending on how you define what makes the language "native". Is it the first language you acquired? Is it the language that is dominant for me? Is it the language in which you have native fluency? Is it the language that defines my sociolinguistic identity (internal and external)? If I go with some of these definitions, my native language is English.
Sometimes when I think about what is "my native language" I feel a bit of cognitive dissonance, part of which is the feeling of liminality and also of loss. I'm sure this is a common migrant experience.
I'm curious if anyone else has had any similar experiences and if they'd like to share.
cheers
Usually when people ask me "What is your native language?" I pause and then go with an option that seems least problematic in the situation or with whatever I feel like that day. I don't have just one native language -- my "first" language was acquired simultaneously with another. These languages were used equally around me.
And my native language is different depending on how you define what makes the language "native". Is it the first language you acquired? Is it the language that is dominant for me? Is it the language in which you have native fluency? Is it the language that defines my sociolinguistic identity (internal and external)? If I go with some of these definitions, my native language is English.
Sometimes when I think about what is "my native language" I feel a bit of cognitive dissonance, part of which is the feeling of liminality and also of loss. I'm sure this is a common migrant experience.
I'm curious if anyone else has had any similar experiences and if they'd like to share.
cheers