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Hehe I think we've crossed our wires somewhere, @takibari. I couldn't find my quote where I appeared to be under the impression that you were disagreeing with me, or whatever gave you the idea. Just for emphasis, I understood completely what you meant, and actually agree with you, the language at that age bracket is well and truly IMPRINTED and EMBEDDED in your brain to the point where there's simply no chance of it ever being erased from your brain, especially when you think this is a language that these people acquired as babies and then went on to speak as young children, through their teen years into adulthood.

Thank you so much for your eloquently stated argument! I too believe this to be impossible. I'm of the strong opinion that whoever claims to have forgotten their language wilfully does this and actually doesn't want to retain their own language for whatever weird reason. But I think in their heart of hearts they know it's all BS because they do know their language, and are just being pretentious. Why they do it is beyond me, because to me it's nothing to be proud of at all. I even have cousins who didn't grow up here and have studied abroad all their lives. They speak our native language, albeit in a weird accent. They never once claim to have forgotten it. yet some people will go abroad for a few years in they early 20's, and come back suddenly having forgotten their own language. It would be laughable if it wasn't so tragic LOL Some of the answers here really floored me, so I'm happy to see that there are others in this community who like me, don't buy into the whole idea.

This is the point I have been trying to put across, @Linguaholic! Thanks for your input, even the original post I made points to a much older age that single figures

Hehe it could just be your conscience playing tricks on you? Maybe you've been thinking about this thread and it's been on your mind IDK. That's the problem with dreams, you aren't always able to recall in clear detail what you actually dreamt. I imagine it's even worse if you dream in a foreign language that you aren't fluent in.

Wow your sister can speak fluent Latin!? Kudos to her! Maybe she could start you off with the basics, on which you can then build more skills. Sadly, I don't know of any online resources through which you can learn, not that I've ever looked. Maybe you could do a quick Google search to see what's out there. Good luck

@Wanda...Sorry yes, you're right; totally different things! Not sure where my head was at; but what I actually meant to say was it sounded a little flat and monotonous to me, not tonal because I didn't get that. I couldn't pick up any distinct intonations and inflections in the guy's voice..

For me, as a Setswana and English speaker, I found Italian relatively easy to learn. I'd even go so far as to say I found it easier than learning French, although they were both fun for me to learn.

Yes, it happens the world over, with many languages. My language is very complex, and I find that it's mainly younger people who seem to struggle more. They would much rather communicate in English. More and more parents are sending their children to very expensive private schools, where the main medium of instruction is English. There the kids meet other children from around the world, usually expats' children, and this means they spend a lot of their time speaking English. But I also noticed this happening a lot in the UK when I lived there. I guess this is also down to the influence of people's different regional dialects, which may not necessarily observe the grammatical rules we're all taught in a formal set up. My husband is English, and I'm always winding him up correcting his English LOL -and then he gets his own back when I make mistakes. I've spoken English all my life, and went on to do it as a Major for my Linguistics Degree, but I still make the occasional mistake.

I agree it's spoken in a pretty monotonous voice. But I haven't got the foggiest idea what language it could be, as it's very far removed from anything I know. At first I thought it might be something out of Eastern Europe, but now having listened to the whole audio clip, I'm not so sure. I can't wait to find out for real what it is.

I have first hand experience of this, but never forgot my language at all when I lived in the UK for years and years. I think it's possible it may become a little rusty, but like you say, when you start speaking it again, it should all come back with a minimum of fuss. It must also depends on whether or not you're interested in retaining it, I guess.

That's exactly the point I keep trying to make. -and like I said, how come the English NEVER seem to lose their ability to speak their language, even if they travel to the furthest point from their countries of origin, where little or no English is spoken. I know their accent can get affected, but that's it.

Wow, that's amazing! Why can't this happen to me in relation to Italian and French LOL?! I'd seriously be made up. But I doubt very much I'm THAT gifted, I've got a very long way to go, sadly

Hehe this is such a funny comparison LOL I have a Polish friend, and I just love listening to her speaking in Polish. It sounds to me as if it has a softer sound compared to say Russian. All I ever pick up is her saying what sounds like "so" or "dobra" every so often LOL

You make some very good points, and have actually included one of my personal favourites; 'have fun with it'! I just feel that the minute language learning becomes a chore, it's the very minute your passion goes out the window. Thanks for sharing

Wow Neonpossum, can I just say well done on learning all those languages! I'm totally blown away by your passion. Plus I can see you're very interested in the cultural aspect of these languages too. kudos to you. Well, everyone's said it all. It's clear to me that Norwegian has won your heart, so I say go for it

I know what you mean about the accent thing. I can relate because I also have an accent and obviously if you're speaking and your accent gets in the way of someone understanding you because it's broad and distinct, it makes you feel even more self conscious and makes it even harder to gain confidence. It's a bit of an annoying thing, but you just have to press on!

Hehe Rimzi, I too had no idea this was possible! It never happened to me, even when I left my home country and went to live in the UK for 13 years, where I very rarely got the chance to speak my own language. Plus I know many, many people who came from around the world to work in Botswana many years ago, who still live here who have never forgotten their own languages. That includes my own step dad, who's Danish and still speaks it fluently, 40 years on. Plus all the English people who travel the world, including non-English speaking countries, but NEVER lose their ability to speak their language. It's a very bizarre thing that apparently happens to people. I'm glad I'm not one of those people, because I'd hate to be unable to speak to my relatives who can't speak English.

I see what you mean about French being tied to the restaurant and catering industry. Years ago, I taught some college students who were trainee chefs and they had to take some French lessons. The other industry would be Hotel management, which also incorporates cooking; the students have to have some level of French and so are expected to do it. I'm not sure if once they're on the field, they actually have to speak it. I've also seen some contact centre based customer service agents roles advertised, where they want either Spanish or French speaking agents. That could be a very good route to go for those brave enough to take it. Being on the phone and constantly having to communicate with customers in French and help them resolve their problem in French would be very intense, but a surefire way of getting a lot of practice in. I think you'd have to be very advanced in the language because some customer may not have any patience at all if you got stuck, which could get very awkward.

I wouldn't have said English and French are similar, at least not in my experience. Like Trellum, I feel that with English being more Germanic (please note, this is not to say it's more similar to German than French, this is merely in reference to its roots as a language) and French a Romatic one, is just one aspect that points to their differences. Maybe knowing English makes it easier to learn French, IDK for sure. This is probably the case because English does tend to borrow a lot from the French language. I'd say that's where the similarities end.

The reason I started learning French was mainly out of pure interest. I'd grown up going to the school library from a very young age, and I'd see these books in a 'weird' language with interesting characters, and had no clue what it was. We weren't offered any foreign languages in states schools at the time. Years later I found out that the language was French, and my interest grew, until I decided I'd take it as a Minor at university. Upon completion of my studies, I continued to study it privately. I love the language and feel it's one of the most beautiful languages ever. My journey with the French language although on the back burner for now, is far from over.

Wow, this sounds like a very exciting time for you! I'm sure your anxiety is down to your eagerness to succeed, which I think is a positive thing. However, I think you'll do just fine. Once you get there, although you are a little rusty, I bet it won't take you very long to pick up French in no time as you already have the foundation laid down. I don't know of any immersion programmes, as I never had to search for them. I was very fortunate because when I went on mine, it was arranged between my university and the French government. It was a fantastic one too, because everything from flights to food and board was paid for by the French government. Plus I was placed with a French family who spoke not a single word of English, forcing me to communicate in my broken French LOL I wish you all the best and hope you get out of it what you seek

I totally agree with Linguaholic, I think it's admirable that the French actually find the means to have French equivalents rather than borrow from other languages. I think it's to be commended because what that says to me is that they value their language and wish to preserve and protect it. When you think of how many French words the English language has borrowed over time, and even my own language borrows from more than one language, I say way to go to the French

I also agree that if you're really passionate about your chosen language, it's important that you learn it in its entirety. It takes a lot more work, but in the long run it comes in handy and can actually help the quality of your spoken and written skills. At the end of the day, it depends on then individual and what they plan to do with their new language skills, but for me personally, it's just illogical to learn one aspect of the language at the exclusion of the other.

I guess from comments here, it explains my situation. I mean, maybe it's not surprising that I always dream in English, and very rarely in my native language. We learn English from very young and then go on to use it widely in official, school and social settings on a daily basis. We actually speak a lot more English in our day to day life, because it's a much easier language than our own. Sometimes it's quicker and easier to explain something in English. So maybe this isn't such a good example. I should probably have said no, I don't ever dream in Italian or French LOL I don't ever remember it happening.

This is so true, @Franco! This is how children in my country of Botswana end up learning 2-3 languages simultaneously from very young. It works ok, and there's never any evidence of any confusion or a struggle, to be honest. I guess like most things, it depends on the children and the languages in question. But I feel that if children here can learn different languages simultaneously, it should be fairly easy for most. I say this because English, my native language Setswana and other languages spoken here are all complex languages and are as different as get.