Friday, July 18, 2014

母語(第一語言)減退 / Mother Tongue (First Language Attrition)

20140716: 有關母語減退的個人感受

Although I currently think and dream in English, I have never completely lost my mother tongue (which is Cantonese). Yes, there are times when I have to use Google Translate to re-learn a Chinese character, but overall, I am still proficient enough to communicate with my Chinese relatives and bloggers in HK. The big question is: Should I fall prey to Alzheimer like my Mom, which language will go first? Will I start yakking to my family in Cantonese (which is what my Mom is doing to everyone at her senior home), or will I retain my current operating language?

Related links:

(1)   Language Attrition 母語減退: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_attrition

(2)   Mother Tongue (First Language) 母語(第一語言): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_tongue

".... 母語,或第一語言,有三種解釋。一者為:一個人出生以後,最早接觸、學習、並掌握的一種或幾種語言。母語一般是自幼即開始接觸、並持續運用到青少年或之後;並且,一個人所受的家庭或正式教育中,尤其是早期,有相當部分是通過母語傳授的;母語另一個解釋則是一個人的民族語,並不一定是一個人最早接觸、學習、並掌握的「語言」,例如「母島」、「母國」等,僅僅表示「根源」的意思,母語不僅僅表示為母親對某個人說的語言,而是他認定的民族語。為了避免對多母語者的母語定義產生歧義,產生出的第三種解釋為不借用其他語言進行(如翻譯等方式)學習而學會的語言。(如嬰幼兒看圖片學習名詞及為母語學習)...."

1951年,聯合國教科文組織在巴黎召開了一個有關母語的會議,並對母語作出了如下定義:「母語是指一個人自幼習得的語言,通常是其思維與交流的自然工具。」

(3)  母語(第一語言)減退 20個例子 / 20 BBC readers who lost fluency in their language:

".... For many of us, the thought of ever forgetting how to speak our native language would seem preposterous. But for some readers, it became a reality.
During a five-year captivity in Afghanistan, US soldier Bowe Bergdahl apparently lost some of his language capabilities. This prompted the Magazine to ask under what circumstances a person could lose their native or first language. In response, readers wrote in to tell their own stories of language loss or confusion. Here's a selection. ...."  
Click here to read more:  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28022790

4 comments:

新鮮人 said...

移民外地,
隨時日漸久,
用語自然會受當地語言影響和改變,
這是無可避免,
就算自己可以控制到,
下一代也會失去了中文的能力。

Haricot 微豆 said...


新鮮兄: 我同意,由其是第二代, 能聽懂已算難得, 能寫能讀更是少之又少了!

新鮮人 said...

這是必需要有心理預備,
否則自己會好失落。

Haricot 微豆 said...

新鮮兄:

在加國生芽的新楓樹,總不是和插枝的茉莉花一樣. 真的,我有些朋友對子女不能或拒絕說中文是感到非常失望.

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