Thread: I need a favor :)

I am aware that you were born in Ukraine. But it seems to me that you have a much better grasp of English than you do of Russian. However, I'm not the one to tell you what your native language is, so forgive me if I've offended you.

I understand, and appreciate your respect. Let me just say that I don't hear my language as much as I would like. Even though all my education in America is given in English, and this is mostly the language I speak with my friends, I don't call it a native language to me. Russian will always be it. Just how I feel. Any child that leaves their own country and goes to another I think will become more framiliar with their surrouding language due to the lack of hearing their native language.

I think I'd agree that native language should ususally mean where you are born, but I suppose there will always be exceptions (and difficulties created when there are seveal languages in a region). There are many people in India who could legitimately cite either Hindi, English or any number of other languages as all being their "native" languages. It all gets very policitical, very fast.

I am reading Nabokov's Speak Memory, and he just mentioned that he learned to read English prior to learning to read Russian. Of course, his background was one of a particular class and time -- as a child he was constantly exposed to Russian, French and English. But, I still think that one could correctly say his "native" language was Russian.

I agree with you TexasMark. A native language should be the language where you are born, even if you don't speak that language anymore for whatever reason. Like you say though, there can be exceptions and difficulties. And, your native country is the country you're born in.

(By the way I really like your avatar )

I'm going to cite VM's lovely example again - your native language is the language you scream out in when getting the shit beat out of you in a St. Petersburg police station. But really, it seems rather odd that your native language could be one you've forgotten. For all practical purposes, I'd say your native language is the language that you speak best. Perhaps the language which you speak at native level? OK, OK, that's pushing it...

Well if you come from Russia at age 6 or something and you forget Russian, and don't speak it from then on(adoption), I would say that Russian is still your native language. Maybe English is a second native language, just my opinion. But I do believe that the language from birth is the native language.

eh not worth speaking of, its already been discussed as it was mentioned above. But for me since my English is currently better than Russian, I would never say English is my native language. Russian is the language I knew first. Just me.