11–17 of 17 posts
The entire article seems to be a refutation of its own title. It goes on and on about how easily first languages slip away and are replaced by the commonly spoken language of the region.
Long after they’ve mastered its syntax and vocabulary, a lifelong accent may mark them as latecomers to the language. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the star of many American movies and the governor of the country’s biggest state, but his Austrian accent is a constant reminder that he could never run for president. Unfortunate Daily Mail source[1], but Mr Schwarzenegger says he can speak unaccented English, but he keeps h…
Could well be boasting, unless there are sound recordings of him speaking without a German/Austrian accent.
Long after they’ve mastered its syntax and vocabulary, a lifelong accent may mark them as latecomers to the language. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the star of many American movies and the governor of the country’s biggest state, but his Austrian accent is a constant reminder that he could never run for president. Unfortunate Daily Mail source[1], but Mr Schwarzenegger says he can speak unaccented English, but he keeps h…
Also, the very idea of "unaccented English" bothers me. In any language that has more than one regional or socioeconomic accent, that's a loaded concept.
> But between then and now, research has shown the depth of the relationship all of us have with our native tongues—and how traumatic it can be when that relationship is ruptured. I wondered what these research were. From the additional readings section I see these two that could be related: > Hallett, D., Chandler, M.J., & Lalonde, C.E. Aboriginal language knowledge and youth suicide. Cognitive Development 22, 392-3…
The confound is that it's not clear if they are "reactivating" some long forgotten part of their brains that maintained Korean phonology, or if they are simply more apt learners due to identifying as Korean. In other words, one of the challenges in learning to pronounce a new language is the ability to overcome "sounding funny" to your peers/yourself, but these Korean adoptees may not have that holding them back since they feel that they are reacquiring a lost part of their identity.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a pretty common thing among non-native speakers who have nonetheless interacted or lived in the English-speaking world for virtually all their lives. I know a bunch of people who are in the same situation (although, clearly, not as famous :) ). My slight Irish accent is an endless source of fun when I'm abroad -- I'm not a native speaker and wasn't born anywhere near Ireland, or anywhere near the English-speakin…
Only tangentially related, but having spent the past 6 months (and no doubt the foreseeable future) working with a senior engineer with a thick accent and only a so-so grasp of English, if you can't express yourself clearly or understand native speakers without them having to make allowances, then I don't think you should get credit for being smart. At that point, it doesn't matter -- the whole relationship is based…
Long after they’ve mastered its syntax and vocabulary, a lifelong accent may mark them as latecomers to the language. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the star of many American movies and the governor of the country’s biggest state, but his Austrian accent is a constant reminder that he could never run for president. Unfortunate Daily Mail source[1], but Mr Schwarzenegger says he can speak unaccented English, but he keeps h…
> But between then and now, research has shown the depth of the relationship all of us have with our native tongues—and how traumatic it can be when that relationship is ruptured. I wondered what these research were. From the additional readings section I see these two that could be related: > Hallett, D., Chandler, M.J., & Lalonde, C.E. Aboriginal language knowledge and youth suicide. Cognitive Development 22, 392-3…
Identity is a big confound in the relearning experiments involving foreign adoptees. There are quite a few studies looking at Korean children adopted by French or North American families. These children seem to completely lose their first language (no neural response in fMRI), even though some were adopted as late as 9 years old. However, when they enroll in introductory Korean classes in college, they seem to pick u…
In that respect, picking back a language they once developed the “hardware” to fully master would be faster for them than people starting from scratch, even if presumably they’ve completely forgotten it.
I’d also expect children having learned language with the same structure to learn Korean faster, just as fully bi-lingual people learn tjeir third or fourth language faster in general.