didn't know or don't know

[aceidiot]

If I found out that someone didn't know their native language would I say
1. '' I didn't know that you didn't know your language''
OR
2. '' I didn't know that you don't know your language''

 

[5jj]

Both are possible.

 

[probus]

Both are possible.

Grammatically, sure, but logically not. How can a person not know their mother tongue? It's an oxymoron.

 

[emsr2d2]

If I found out that someone didn't know their native language, which of the following [STRIKE]would[/STRIKE] could/should I say?

1. '' I didn't know that you didn't know your language.''
[STRIKE]OR[/STRIKE]
2. '' I didn't know that you don't know your language.''

Note my changes above. I have amended the opening so that it is a complete question. The way you laid it out before left nowhere sensible for the obligatory question mark to go. Remember to use a closing punctuation mark at the end of all sentences.

As has already been noted, the situation doesn't make sense. A person can't possibly not know their own native language. The fact that it's their native language means they can speak it better than any other language. I suspect you meant something other than "know" or you have misunderstood "native language".

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

If I found out that someone didn't know their native language would I say
1. '' I didn't know that you didn't know your language''
OR
2. '' I didn't know that you don't know your language''

And what language would you ask it in?

 

[Tdol]

Grammatically, sure, but logically not. How can a person not know their mother tongue? It's an oxymoron.

Someone might expect a child of emigrants to speak the language of their country of origin. That would make it a sentence with assumptions, but logical to me.

 

[GoesStation]

Someone might expect a child of emigrants to speak the language of their country of origin. That would make it a sentence with assumptions, but logical to me.

My mother and father had different native languages. Neither was English, and my siblings and I don't know either of them. This is normal for the children of immigrants with different mother tongues.

If both parents are immigrants and speak their native language with their children, the children will naturally understand that language and will usually be able to speak it at least at a basic level, though they often prefer the local language. My father was only three when his mother brought him to the United States, so he developed a native level of fluency in English. He usually answered in English when his mother addressed him in Yiddish. He says he speaks Yiddish "like a six-year old". He says his habit was normal in the neighborhood where he grew up; the kids all understood Yiddish, but they didn't like to speak it.

We have a very large population of immigrants from Latin America and their descendants in this country. The second generation usually understands and can communicate in Spanish. The third and later generations have much lower levels of Spanish fluency as they assimilate into the majority culture.

 

[jutfrank]

I initially assumed the person speaking was trying to tease the interlocutor, or be sarcastic or something.

 

[aceidiot]

I asked this question because I met someone yesterday who couldnt speak their mother tongue because her parents never taught them their language instead they only talk in english. When I found out about that I wanted to say the question that I asked here but I wasn't sure about the grammar.

 

[emsr2d2]

I asked this question because I met someone yesterday who couldn't speak [STRIKE]their[/STRIKE] her mother tongue because her parents never taught [STRIKE]them[/STRIKE] her their native language. Instead, they only [STRIKE]talk[/STRIKE] spoke to her in English. When I found that out, [STRIKE]about that[/STRIKE] I wanted to say the [STRIKE]question[/STRIKE] sentence that I asked about here but I wasn't sure about the grammar.

Please note my corrections above.

As you will have noted from the previous responses, the use of "native language" doesn't work. Someone's native language is the main language they actually speak and understand - it is usually the first language they learnt as a child and the one they use most of the time.
Your use, in your most recent post, of "mother tongue" is a bit clearer and it's certainly helped by the explanation that her parents didn't teach their main language to her.

I'd have said to her "I didn't realise that your parents didn't teach you their native language".

 

[GoesStation]

Your mother tongue is your first language. Your parents' language is just that: your parents' mother tongue/first language.

The Yiddish word for "mother tongue", mama loshen, is another word in Yiddish for "Yiddish".

 

[GoesStation]

I met someone yesterday who couldn't speak their mother tongue ….

In case it's not clear, this is not possible. Everyone who can talk can speak their mother tongue.

 

[aceidiot]

Thank you guys. Now i get it. I got confused about what mother tongue meant.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you. [STRIKE]guys.[/STRIKE] We're not all male.

Now I get it. I got confused about what "mother tongue" meant.

Note my changes above.