Learning a new language can do funny things to your mind. Learning two new languages in a short period can totally send smoke out your ears from the friction it causes. I find it odd and yet, fascinating at the same time, what the mind will learn. What you remember and learn in one language and yet can not remember in another. Let me give you some examples as to why I find this fascinating enough to bother writing about it.

Several weeks ago, I was picking the kids up from school and while we walked home, we discussed their day. An older lady walked by us and turned making several “double takes”. I imagine she heard us talking and was confused by it. I smiled at her and sure enough, she used the opportunity to strike up conversation. In French she asked if we lived in town. I answered that yes, I did and that I have lived here about 6 months. She then asked where we came from. I told her America to which she shot out the most surprised look I have ever seen. She then switched to English telling me that she thought for sure she heard a British accent in me. This led me to believe only one thing was possible… she has NEVER heard a British person talking! If she had ever encountered a real British accent in her life, she would never have mistaken my grotesque American accent with that of the eloquent British one. We talked for a few more minutes about living in France and living in Germany. When she discovered I had once also lived in Germany, the conversation turned to German. I do not exactly remember what the rest of the conversation was but one thing that struck me as odd, was the last sentence she said to me. It started in German, switched to English, and finished with French. ALL that wrapped up in one long sentence. I walked away, not baffled by what just came from her, but baffled by the fact that I understood completely what she had just said! How was it possible to run through 3 languages at one time and be understood? How does the mind make that kind of switch?

I have often sat trying to spit out a sentence to someone in French, only to be met with a look of sheer confusion. When I think about what I just said, I realize I started in French and ended in German. Ken says he does this as well. When fishing for a word, your mind reverts back to the first foreign language you learned it in. Ken says his French teacher often says “you are speaking Spanish, not French!” When at a loss, his mind reverts to Spanish. But you can not get too comfortable with it. When first arriving here, I always used the German word for “you” instead of the French one. Now days, I have a hard time remembering what the German word for “you” is and when talking with a German friend here, I use the French word in the German sentence. Thankfully she is kind enough not to point out my mistake or does not even notice.

Most recently what has sparked my curiosity about the mind has been Carissa. Her studies at school here have started to overshadow what she has learned or has not yet learned in English. She can recite the days of the week in French as if she were Mary Poppins singing Supercalafragalistic but coming up with the English versions is near impossible for her. Everyday in school, they say the phrase “yesterday was ___, today is ___, and tomorrow will be____.” Carissa can do this with any given day without any hesitation but in English… she looks at you like you asked her to speak a form of ape talk. The truly funny one is the year. 2004 (now 2005) is just a long word that she loves to say. She prances around singing it loud and proud. She knows what it is, the year, and knows it when she sees it written but ask her to say it in English and all of a sudden little miss Mary Poppins blows a gasket. It becomes two, zero, zero, five.

Celia is in the funny stage of turning every word into the American/French version. Ask her how to say milk in French and she says with all conviction, “meelk” even though the real word is “lait”. In all fairness, Rissa did this too with her German. They have the uncanny ability to make whole sentences sound like it could be the right words if you did not know any better. (And sometimes I don’t know any better and believe them.)

Studies say that kids who learn a foreign language by the age of 5 have more grey matter in their brain. This area is an important area for something, I know it is. I read it in a magazine recently. If I only could remember which one then I would quote it for you but, as you can tell… I never learned a foreign language before I was 5 years old.

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