ELL: first vs. native language

[Gerd Jendraschek]

Dear Julia (and all the others),

Some days ago, you wrote the following:

> One speaker made a point that I could identify with. He said that although
> English was his first language, he had never felt that it was his native
> language, and now he was reclaiming his own language and finding it very
> fulfilling.

Some time ago, I heard someone from Brittany complain that he could not
speak his native language ("Je ne sais pas parler ma langue maternelle.")
and he meant by that that he was monolingual in French. I was wondering why
he had used the concept of 'mother tongue' for a language he had obviously
never acquired during his childhood, which is an uncommon usage of the term.
At the time, I thought he had just mixed up terminology and meant something
like "the language of my region/of my ancestors", but your message suggests
another interpretation.

In a rather litteral sense he could have meant that his mother was able to
speak Breton, but did not transmit the language. However, most probably he
intended to say that "under normal circumstances" Breton would be his first
language if transmission had not been interrupted by a language policy
advocating monolingualism in the official language (as did language policies
all over the world). In such a setting you could call the dominant language
"foster language" in analogy to "foster parents". Foster parents are
supposed to fulfil the same role as "biological parents" (which in my
analogy might correspond to the term "heritage language") but quite often
the affective relationship cannot be the same: it can only be a replacement
for a loss. You probably heard about the many cases of adopted children
looking desperately for their genetic ancestors although there is no
rational, but only an affective need to do so. A while ago, I also heard of
two sisters who were brought up in different families in different countries
and spoke different languages, but although they were foreigners to each
other there was an emotional link.

I am more and more convinced that a "link to the (own) past" makes you know
who you are and is crucial for cultural creativity and that cutting this
link entails cultural disorientation.

I have been thinking about the "emotional factor" in language preservation
for quite a while, as it seems to be the only argument that can convince
monolingual laymen who appear to see particular languages as a communication
device they happen to use in the same way as they use telephones and
postcards, i.e. replaceable if something more efficient shows up. Maybe I am
exaggerating, at least I hope so.

Best wishes

GERD

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