I can somehow relate to Lu's story about having a language of school and a language of home, however unlike her, knowing the difference between both wasn't a "tool of survival." To me, the ability to differentiate between languages is more related to being able to communicate.
When I was younger, everyone around me would only speak Spanish, it wasn't until I turned 8 that I started learning English and I felt many doors opened for me. I could now enjoy the music of my favorite bands, I started reading Harry Potter in English, I could do twice as many things. However, I could only do that in my own little word, at my house I had to speak Spanish.
As the years went by and I started practicing English even more, I started mixing both languages, something my dad has always mocked me for. That clear definition between my own little world and everyone else's started becoming blurrier and blurrier. I would sometimes be talking to a friend in English and all of a sudden I would say something in Spanish, or I would be talking to my family in Spanish and then start speaking English. Not only has this put me in awkward situations, but also this has diminished my communication skills.
When I first started learning English, I thought that learning the language would be the challenging part, however differentiating between both languages ended up being just as hard.
I too grew up knowing two languages and I always have felt its been a blessing to be bilingual. I have seen so many doors open for me and i couldnt thank my parents enough for bringing me up this way. I think its great that you overcame and learned the English language.
ReplyDeleteI like how you point out how differentiating between the two languages can be the hardest part.
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