Don’t be ashamed of your first language
That’s who you are.
I’m a language enthusiast.
I speak four languages fluently, albeit to various degrees – English (obviously), Italian, Spanish and Romanian.
I’ve got a masters degree in foreign languages and taught at the university level in the States.
I’ve always admired polyglots. A life goal of mine is to become one (are you one at four languages? I see conflicting opinions).
Learning languages is more than a hobby. It’s a passion.
I’m always planning out what my next language will be.
There’s a thrill in learning new things, especially a new tool to communicate with people and expand your world view.
I’ve put A LOT of time into it – or should I say, them.
My first language, and best language, is English. I grew up in Canada. English is the language with which I’ve had the most wholistic life experience.
I actually hated this for years.
I admired people from other continents that spoke multiple languages from what I perceived as being almost innate in their essence.
The idea that English is the world language and everybody can speak it, with the mindset that persists in Anglophone countries rendering other languages a “nice to know” rather than a “necessity to learn”.
Aside from speaking English in my day-to-day life, I never engaged with it beyond that.
Only non-English movies. Only non-English podcasts. Only non-English music. Only non-English books.
It goes on and on.
I don’t regret doing this because if you want to learn another language to high-degree of fluency (let’s say, the C-category on the CEFR scale), you need to make whatever language you’re learning a lifestyle.
However with this piece I want to focus on the rejection part of your first language.
Because I did that for a long time.
And throughout my years travelling and living in different countries, I’ve met a lot of people that felt the same about their first language, though it was often the reverse of mine – they wish they spoke English first and often rendered their first language as economically useless.
It took me years to come around to it.
There’s no need to reject or feel ashamed of our first language.
It’s how we describe ourselves best.
It’s how we feel most comfortable.
It’s when we feel most ourselves.
Generalizing from personal experience, of course, for those who may disagree.
We speak our first language with such beauty and cultural enrichment that often we’re not even aware of it.
I don’t just speak English – I speak a version of Canadian English specific to the region where I grew up and even more specific to the town where I was raised.
I’m in an elite class – and so are you, in your own way.
In fact, I think I had to learn so many languages to come around to realize this for myself.
They say you change personality based on the language you speak. There’s truth to this, but often you’re adapting to the culture and context in which that language is spoken.
And that’s a beautiful thing!
I think everyone should stand to learn a new language of their liking and interest – but never lose sight of your own, because that’s who you are at the end of the day.
I hope to find more creative energy and continue to share about languages (again) :)
