Forced language

[Rigor Mortis]

My parents are god **** stupid sometimes

My little brothers dont know spanish. My parents blame them for not knowing it, and i start telling them its your fault, your supposed to speak it when there liek babies en stuff.

And my dad randomly went " Speak ****ing spanish now, stupid retarts just because your getting As you think your smart but you dont know spanish you dont know ****"

Its so retarted, they want them to learn spanish in a freaking INSTANT freaking idiots.

Have you expeirenced this?

 

[urdailywater]

No mah boi. All-American family.

Sounds ********. No offense to your parents.

You're supposed to teach this stuff to your kids if they grow up speaking English. You live in the U.S. right?
New Jersey? (Based on location..)

Isn't it dominantly english with some to little spanish down there?

 

[Rigor Mortis]

No mah boi. All-American family.

Sounds ********. No offense to your parents.

You're supposed to teach this stuff to your kids if they grow up speaking English. You live in the U.S. right?
New Jersey? (Based on location..)

Isn't it dominantly english with some to little spanish down there?

No offense taken.

yeah....ghetto part of new jersey. Dominican family. I mean im sure yo u can learn spanish after jur baby years, but **** if they wanted it in an instant they should of just spoken spanish.

And yeah my parents are bilingual.

 

[ZeroFox]

No I haven't had to experience this. Well, not from my parents at least. I've had to take Spanish classes in middle and high school though. It was pretty much requried.

 

[notftomearth7]

If your parents are bilingual, then I can see how your brother's minimal understanding of Spainish might annoy them. However, it is completely stupid to try and force the language on them by speaking Spainish all the time, because a teen's brain is more complicated than an infants, so teens have a hard time hearing and retaining the information.

Also, being bilingual, your parents might not understand how difficult it is to learn another language after being monolingual for so long, so cut them some slack, but at the same time bring up casually how difficult it is for your brothers.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

If your parents are bilingual, then I can see how your brother's minimal understanding of Spainish might annoy them. However, it is completely stupid to try and force the language on them by speaking Spainish all the time, because a teen's brain is more complicated than an infants, so teens have a hard time hearing and retaining the information.

Also, being bilingual, your parents might not understand how difficult it is to learn another language after being monolingual for so long, so cut them some slack, but at the same time bring up casually how difficult it is for your brothers.

Yeah i just overreact there not idiots ;P But it is a wild statement to say START SPEAKING SPANISH NOW

lol funny fact, they have a better english vocabulary then their spanish one X D

 

[Omis]

My mom keeps trying to get me to learn Portuguese. She should have taught me more when I was a tot.

 

[OmegaXXII]

Well due to the fact that my parents only knew a single language, which in my case was Spanish, I guess I was somewhat forced to learn it as a child, but eventually after going to school I started developing my English skills, so now I'm bilingual.

 

[Canvasofgrey]

It's not about teaching them when they are an infant, as a teenager, or in school, or any of that nonsense. Anybody can learn any language. The key is to be around the language.

Actually, the way they teach language in school. You know, the whole, conjugate this verb with this subject, or applying this subject to this adjective in this way, and all the grammar crap is the worst way to learn a language.

Using me as an example, I took 3 years of French in high school, and I hardly remember a **** thing. On the other hand, I am pretty fluent (speaking-wise) in Chinese because I spent many of my summers in China, and I'm around the language a lot since my grandma and parents speak Chinese. My point is, is that a language can't be learned if it is not used. So in a sense, you are correct, and a majority of the problem comes from your parents in not using Spanish around the house to communicate to their kids.

 

[XACE-K]

Al-american so I don't experience it at home. But I have experienced this in both middle school, high school and in some way right now.

At my middle school when I first went their, we got a choice to learn Spanish or French. I wanted Spanish but since a lot of the kids also wanted Spanish, I got French. I did well in it but I hated how I couldn't get the language I wanted.

In my high school, Russian is the only language they have. To me, that really sucks because in middle school, at least I got a choice of what I preferred. I'm doing well in Russian to but I don't see it helping me.

As for now, I'm Italian but I can't speak a word of it. I asked my grandpa to teach me but he said I should focus on the languages I'm learning in school.

 

[victra♥]

My dad is completely white washed and I hate it. When I was growing up, my grandparents and my mom were living with me and they would speak Cantonese as the main household language. Since my parents divorced and my grandparents moved away, the only language in my house anymore is English. I've forgotten a lot of Chinese, and my younger brother barely knows enough to communicate with my Grandparents.

My high school offers Chinese as an option course, but my dad refused to let me take it and scoffed the Chinese language off as an "Entertainment" language now. Mind you, he's Chinese himself and can't speak a lick of it. My grandfather and him got into big arguments and stuff over it. It was absolutely awful. To make matters worse, he forced me to take French instead. Not that there's anything wrong with French, just not something I'd ever use. Ever.

 

[Canvasofgrey]

My dad is completely white washed and I hate it. When I was growing up, my grandparents and my mom were living with me and they would speak Cantonese as the main household language. Since my parents divorced and my grandparents moved away, the only language in my house anymore is English. I've forgotten a lot of Chinese, and my younger brother barely knows enough to communicate with my Grandparents.

My high school offers Chinese as an option course, but my dad refused to let me take it and scoffed the Chinese language off as an "Entertainment" language now. Mind you, he's Chinese himself and can't speak a lick of it. My grandfather and him got into big arguments and stuff over it. It was absolutely awful. To make matters worse, he forced me to take French instead. Not that there's anything wrong with French, just not something I'd ever use. Ever.

I know what you mean. At least the whole French bit.

A language I really want to learn is Swedish. I think it's a beautiful language. I'm thinking of moving there for my Externship once I get out of school. ^_^

 

[Sporkman]

If your parents are bilingual, then I can see how your brother's minimal understanding of Spainish might annoy them. However, it is completely stupid to try and force the language on them by speaking Spainish all the time, because a teen's brain is more complicated than an infants, so teens have a hard time hearing and retaining the information.

Also, being bilingual, your parents might not understand how difficult it is to learn another language after being monolingual for so long, so cut them some slack, but at the same time bring up casually how difficult it is for your brothers.

Don't make **** up.

 

[marthanoob]

I grew up speaking a foreign language, but I forgot it as I immersed myself in English.
Now my parents are trying to get me to learn their language again, but without conscious effort on my part, I'm gradually losing ground. I can understand when they speak, but I can't respond. And since my grandparents don't know English, I can see why they are frustrated.

 

[Mic_128]

I say go the whole hog. When they ask you to speak spanish, speak Japanese. Bonus points for any other language you can learn to throw at em.

 

[OmegaXXII]

I don't suppose you guys have an Australian language over there do you?

 

[Firus]

It's not about teaching them when they are an infant, as a teenager, or in school, or any of that nonsense. Anybody can learn any language. The key is to be around the language.

Yes, but it's a lot easier to learn a language as an infant than as a teenager. It's not nonsense.

 

[ndayday]

Not entirely like your incedent, but I was born/raised in S. America, and I do plan on learning it, but I think my mother is going way to far with it. She wants me to go live with my family down there for all my summer vacation, and considering it's south of the equator, the seasons are flip-flopped. That means I would be attending school. =T

Really, I love my family down there and all, but I think it's a waste of my time to go to a new school temporarily at a time that is supposed to be "break."

Oh, and I can't even speak spanish, but my cousin down there knows english...(well at least so you understand it a bit...) and I would be living with him. It'd be like summer school for me, and I've heard summer school is not fun. =P

 

[streetracr77]

I know what you mean. At least the whole French bit.

A language I really want to learn is Swedish. I think it's a beautiful language. I'm thinking of moving there for my Externship once I get out of school. ^_^

Canvas this is exactly what I'm thinking of doing. I've always wanted to learn Swedish. There's a new girl at my school who just moved here from Sweden. I've wanted to ask her if she could teach me some Swedish phrases but I don't know how well she can speak English.

 

[jigglyppuff8]

I live in a household where the adults mainly speak Vietnamese and English with a broken accent. I can speak English just fine but at the cost of not speaking Vietnamese well. It's not really a big problem with me, but when I'm asked to to chores and such, it can get difficult to understand exactly what they are trying to tell me to do and they'll make me feel like an idiot if I ask again .
However, just recently my sister almost put her foot on my 3 month old baby cousin by accident. ALMOST. When the baby started crying, my grandmother came over and started saying what was supposedly "Oh my God!" in Vietnamese but the expression contained what we came to know as "kill" so when she said it over and over, we thought she had accused my sister of "killing" the baby. When she clarified that it was merely an expresion like "Oh my God!" she just wouldn't let it go for the rest of the day. Frustrating times.

I'm pretty sure that learning a language young is much better than learning it when you're a teen. I forgot nearly every single part of the Latin course I took last year :/. Yet I can still remember the Vietnamese words used most often in our house when I was younger just fine. (and the French word for Cheese Omelette, lol Dexter's Laboratory).

 

[A_man13]

Ouch! Thank goodness I really don't have that problem. My family has long been english speaking, but some people on my Mom's side do speak spanish (They can controll it and I can understand it).

I do know that the whole learning a language when you are young is a true statement. I don't know the exact data, but I believe it's the fact that you A) are more apt to learn it when you are young and B) your around it longer, meaning you are more used to it. Right now I'm in Spanish 3 right now and by far one of the higher achieving students in the class. What makes this interesting is that I am at least 2 years younger then everyone in the class, but mostly 3 years. It's certainly not the whole reason, but I think my age has put me at an advantage over my peers in the class.

 

[1048576]

I failed Spanish because I can't roll my R's. My teacher was a big stickler about that.

 

[A_man13]

I can't roll my r's if my life depended on it. I mainly got to where I am because I have a strong spot in speaking.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

I failed Spanish because I can't roll my R's. My teacher was a big stickler about that.

My teacher is EXTREMELY lenient about how to pronounce words. I dont know how they get As saying " Kay ooohhraaa Ex" Isntead of que hora es

 

[notftomearth7]

Don't make **** up.

I wasn't making it up. I'm just saying for some reason, language is easier to pick up as a baby than it is as a teen. I don't know how or why, but that's just how it works.

 

[Blooqkazoo]

I learned to speak English somewhat fluently in 3 years. I was 10 back then. And Japanese is my first language. You just gotta need it.

 

[Sporkman]

I wasn't making it up. I'm just saying for some reason, language is easier to pick up as a baby than it is as a teen. I don't know how or why, but that's just how it works.

Research is to the contrary. Don't know whose study it was but it showed there was no difference between thegroups used. Child Learning/development / 'Language acquisition' is still very theoretical and nothing is 100% proven just yet.

 

[GoldShadow]

Research is to the contrary. Don't know whose study it was but it showed there was no difference between thegroups used. Child Learning/development / 'Language acquisition' is still very theoretical and nothing is 100% proven just yet.

Then it couldn't have been right. Linguistics and communication and their relation to neurobiology and neuropsychology are relatively well-established, though research about the specifics is ongoing.

Throwing my usual biology stuff in here:

A small child/baby's mind is much more plastic than a teen's or adult's. This is the time when the verbal and speech portions of the brain are being stimulated heavily; in fact, this verbal stimulation is needed for a baby to grow up properly. There is a short window during which a baby needs to have verbal stimulation or else it will not develop into a normal, functional adult.

There are many cases of feral children (basically "stray" orphans; think of them as stray dogs or cats) who were abandoned as children and never received any care or verbal communication. They live on streets and fend for themselves much as an animal might. Researchers have shown that these children, after being rescued of course, can never develop the verbal or thinking capacity of a normal human being (since the window for that has long passed). Intense therapy can help them; they might even be able to learn very simple language or expressions. But they will never ever speak or be able to think like a normal person.

Anyway, getting back to the point, along with that window comes a period of extremely high plasticity where it is much much easier for a baby to learn a language. Yes, adults and teens can learn new languages too, obviously. But babies have a much easier time.

 

[Sporkman]

Then it couldn't have been right. Linguistics and communication and their relation to neurobiology and neuropsychology are relatively well-established, though research about the specifics is ongoing.

Throwing my usual biology stuff in here:

A small child/baby's mind is much more plastic than a teen's or adult's. This is the time when the verbal and speech portions of the brain are being stimulated heavily; in fact, this verbal stimulation is needed for a baby to grow up properly. There is a short window during which a baby needs to have verbal stimulation or else it will not develop into a normal, functional adult.

There are many cases of feral children (basically "stray" orphans; think of them as stray dogs or cats) who were abandoned as children and never received any care or verbal communication. They live on streets and fend for themselves much as an animal might. Researchers have shown that these children, after being rescued of course, can never develop the verbal or thinking capacity of a normal human being (since the window for that has long passed). Intense therapy can help them; they might even be able to learn very simple language or expressions. But they will never ever speak or be able to think like a normal person.

Anyway, getting back to the point, along with that window comes a period of extremely high plasticity where it is much much easier for a baby to learn a language. Yes, adults and teens can learn new languages too, obviously. But babies have a much easier time.

Aye, I'm well aware of all that, feral children 'n' all. I wish I had the study results, who carried it out, etc. but I don't. I agree with the critical period due to the cases of people like Genie (although she could be mentally slow anyway) and other feral children.
It undermines what I said earlier tonight, and admittedly I was a little rash, but study shows that 'young people' (children most likely) do not learn language any better than an adult.

It's 5:51a.m. atm so any of the above may be a right mess I can't be bothered checking over it. Have a good night lads.

NB: The making **** up part was more related to the description of a 'teen's brain'.

PS: This is what the alphabet would look like if Q and R were removed

 

[GoldShadow]

I see... well if you ever find that study, I'd be interested in checking it out.