Written by: Andrea de Palm on Sunday, 1 June 2008 @ 13:48
Some people may consider it affectation but I really cannot help my bilingualism – honestly. Though there is no particular reason like my growing up in an English spoken country or my being raised by English speaking parents in the Netherlands, I find myself often thinking in English and actually prefer reading and writing in English, too. Blame my parents! I have grown up around books, many of which were English. Whenever my parents needed to discuss something not meant for my curious ears, they spoke English. As an only child who the world revolved around, this was unacceptable and of course it became a mission to try and figure out this language so I could understand what they were saying.
My parents turned to the BBC as soon as it became available on Dutch television so I grew up learning to understand their favourite British series without subtitles. By the time I took English in school, I was already fluent.
I know it sounds almost snobbish, but it is true. My only consolation is that I am no longer alone as more people these days are bilingual and my significant other, who is as Dutch as they come, shares the same deviation.
On the other hand I do feel a little guilt towards my mother’s tongue, Dutch, as it is already suffering from neglect so much these days and it is the language my father set out to study. It’s just that sometimes I find it easier to express myself in English, which often requires far fewer words to describe a feeling than Dutch.
Now don’t think I never have to look up a word or a saying – I will be the first to admit I am not that fluent. I use English far too irregularly for that. At least as a secretary I had to actively use the language quite often, handling telephone calls and writing letters. Nowadays I fear I have to resort to my “book English” as I still read almost exclusively in English.
So there it is – the explanation why this blog has an English title and will almost certainly contain English written posts like this. I write down my thoughts as they come to me – sometimes in Dutch, sometimes in English. I apologise if it is too confusing, but then again, this is (also) me…
Do feel free to correct me when I make blatant mistakes or discuss bilingualism further by posting a comment.
More on the subject:
- http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweetaligheid_(kennis) (Dutch)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilingualism (English)
Tags: bilingualism, blog, language
Catogories: algemeen
