Living in two worlds, but with just one language
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| | Olga Adler
United States
Local time: 05:28
English to Russian
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| Born to be a foreigner | May 27, 2013 |
I understand what it means to attribute yourself to two worlds but to feel sort of an alien in both. My parents and grandparents are Russian, my father is a military officer and my family moved to Crimea when Ukraine made part of the Soviet Union. My native city, Sevastopol, still houses two military fleets - Russian and Ukranian and the absolute majority of locals speek Russian, so I only learnt some Ukrainian at school but I am not fluent in it at all, I can only read in it. So I may say that ... See more I understand what it means to attribute yourself to two worlds but to feel sort of an alien in both. My parents and grandparents are Russian, my father is a military officer and my family moved to Crimea when Ukraine made part of the Soviet Union. My native city, Sevastopol, still houses two military fleets - Russian and Ukranian and the absolute majority of locals speek Russian, so I only learnt some Ukrainian at school but I am not fluent in it at all, I can only read in it. So I may say that I am a Ukrainian girl who doesn't speak Ukrainian. ▲ Collapse
| | | | NataliaAnne 
Brazil
Local time: 07:28
Portuguese to English
My parents gave the same reasons for not teaching me Hungarian as well as saying it’s not a ‘useful’ language; as if cultural heritage should be measured by degrees of usefulness! (Yes, I’m obviously still bitter about not speaking Hungarian…)
| | | | | 'Useful' language | May 27, 2013 |
Every language is useful, and the most important language in the world is the first language spoken by any and every individual...
| | | | NataliaAnne
Brazil
Local time: 07:28
Portuguese to English
George Hopkins wrote:
Every language is useful, and the most important language in the world is the first language spoken by any and every individual...
Can I give you parents’ phone number so you can give them a lecture?
I’m possibly being too harsh on them, though, as they were just trying to spare me the humiliation they felt. Luckily the education system has improved and children are no longer beaten or told they’re stupid when they don’t speak the language.
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Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:28
Hebrew to English
| Poem about this.... | May 27, 2013 |
Mother Tongue by Dean Atta
Our mother has swallowed her tongue
Though selfish is never a word I could call mum
I feel she has been so by swallowing her tongue
To make it worse, our family holidays are always to her motherland
She forgets to translate even though she knows we don’t understand
My sister and I, make do and get by on the meaning we can infer
From gestures and inflection, can never look to mu... See more Mother Tongue by Dean Atta
Our mother has swallowed her tongue
Though selfish is never a word I could call mum
I feel she has been so by swallowing her tongue
To make it worse, our family holidays are always to her motherland
She forgets to translate even though she knows we don’t understand
My sister and I, make do and get by on the meaning we can infer
From gestures and inflection, can never look to mum for direction
Mother has swallowed her tongue, shows no regrets on reflection
Stubborn, she refuses to see that she has wronged us not to teach
To give us the option, the basic right, of freedom of speech
With our grandparents, our aunts, uncles and our cousins
There are few shortcuts to understanding
Common language is a good paving stone
So when you can’t speak the language of love
You realise you may be walking this path alone
Made in England, we’re half this and half that
But they could more easily overlook that fact
If we could speak with our mother’s tongue
Not let our skin speak for us
But join in the family chorus
I can’t tell you why she would wilfully deny
Her daughter and her son
But she has swallowed it
And we are struck dumb
Our mother has swallowed her tongue.
http://www.jcwi.org.uk/2012/01/20/dean-atta-two-tongues-are-better-than-one ▲ Collapse
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