I guess there is no reason to separate which "english" region. It'd be too tedious.

When i think of native language, it's easier for me to define it as the language that one uses when thinking. That or the default definition is usually something along the lines of "the language of you consider you homeland/nation".

Based on the former, it isn't so confusing to answer this kind of question for people with circumstances like CheshireCaine's or those who "grew up multilingually."

For that reason I chose english but honestly....when I look up the definition of "native langauge"...it could very well have been chinese. I don't know.

Admin want to smack the definition of native language somewhere?

Last edited by mysstris at 6:43 pm, Aug 23 2014

I can easily think in both English and Russian (not the mix of 2 but rather separately) since I started to immerse into English area pretty early. And even though Russian is my first language and I studies in school and university in Russian, I was coming to Canada for visits quite often (my sister moved here long time before me)
I'm not sure if it is normal but currently I even have dreams in both Russian and English.

I would say, environment in which you were brought up is what matters...

________________
I am envoy from nowhere in nowhere. Nobody and nothing have sent me. And though it is impossible I exist. © Trimutius

Just because you, personally, only think in one language, doesn't mean that we all do.
I think in a multilingual mix.
Generally a mixture of my three first languages, with the occasional appearance of my two second languages ...meaning that I'd go from two native tongues, to... well should I just count the main three, or all five? I don't think in my mother tongue, as often as my other first languages. Does that mean that I shouldn't count it, despite having learned it from birth, and never having ceased using it?
Not particularly less confusing, quite frankly.
Quite the opposite.

"the language you consider your homeland/nation" is a bit closer to what a native language is, though it's not quite right.
It wouldn't change a thing for me, either way: I'd still have the same two native languages.

I'm no admin, but...

Native language:
"One of the more widely accepted definitions of a native speaker is someone who was born in a particular country and was raised to speak the language of that country during the critical period of their development"
-Wikipedia

"One's first language, learned in early childhood."
-Wiktionary

"the language of the country that someone is born in or native to"
-Collins English Dictionary

(actually entry for "Native tongue") "the native language of someone; the language of the country that someone is born in or native to"
Collins English Dictionary


Native (as an adjective):
"Belonging to one by birth."
"Born or grown in the region in which it lives or is found; not foreign or imported."
"Arising by birth; having an origin; born."
"Original; constituting the original substance of anything."
"Naturally related; cognate; connected (with)."
-Wiktionary

"Associated with the place or circumstances of a person’s birth"
"(Of a quality) belonging to a person’s character from birth; innate"
-Oxford dictionary

"living in a particular country, area, or city since birth"
"native abilities or qualities are those that you have had since birth"
Macmillan Dictionary
Native (as an adjective):
"Belonging to one by birth."
"Born or grown in the region in which it lives or is found; not foreign or imported."
"Arising by birth; having an origin; born."
"Original; constituting the original substance of anything."
"Naturally related; cognate; connected (with)."
-Wiktionary

"Associated with the place or circumstances of a person’s birth"
"(Of a quality) belonging to a person’s character from birth; innate"
-Oxford dictionary

"living in a particular country, area, or city since birth"
"native abilities or qualities are those that you have had since birth"
Macmillan Dictionary

Some dictionaries give a wider definition, like "language learned in early childhood", which is actually the definition of "first language", but that is merely a lazy/clumsy/ignorant dismissal of what it means for a language to be "native".
A mother tongue, however, is the language(s) of your parents. Of your people(s)/ethnicity/ethnicities.
You can have a person who has, say, Polish as their mother tongue, but who has never learned any Polish, and indeed doesn't know a word of it.

In short:
First language: A language before the age of 6-7, and which is still maintained.
Native language: A language you are born into, and learned from birth (more or less). By nationality and/or residency.
Mother tongue: The language of your parents/blood. No requirement of competence.

Last edited by zarlan at 4:57 pm, Aug 24 2014

I generally dream in a mix of my first languages and...
I've had a dream where I spoke with a person in the dream, exclusively in German (which I've learned as a second language).
I can't say for sure how normal it is, but I'd be very surprised if it were not perfectly normal.
In fact, I'd say it would probably be very abnormal, for someone to never dream in a language that they know well. Why would they not?

As to thinking in one language... I think that, that is exclusive to monolingual people (and I'm including people who only know a few words, and possibly are able to ask directions, in another language, in that)

Last edited by zarlan at 9:57 am, Aug 24 2014

How is Catalan different from Spanish? Can you communicate with Spanish with Catalan?

I'm Thai.

English! Corrupt Canadian English, that is. While in Europe, I was asked whether I could speak English... while I was speaking English.

It is arguably not even in the same language family, apparently. *just looked it up*

Polish here but born and living in Lithuania. I'm really interested how many there are of us(Polish)

________________

What do you do if you're natively bilingual? I'm Chinese-American. Although the English is obviously better (even though the Chinese came first), I've been speaking both without much thought most of my life.

Don't speak slang while in non-english speaking country, use something simple in Europe unless you are In Great Britain.

________________
I am envoy from nowhere in nowhere. Nobody and nothing have sent me. And though it is impossible I exist. © Trimutius

Both languages belong to the same family (Latin languages) but no, they are not the same. It looks like a mix of French and Spanish (and also Italian i think) but it's really a language on its own, not a dialect of Spanish/French.

I voted English. TECHNICALLY it is my native language (having been born and raised in the US and what not), but I'd really like to say that the language I think in is Jibberish, rather than English. If somehow, humans miraculously evolved telepathy overnight, I'd still be pretty safe from having people reading my thoughts, because not a single person on this planet would be able to understand them.

Yeah, that 's a given. I don't think I was using slang at the time, I think it was an accent thing. Or speed thing - it's easy to forget how fast a normal talking speed can seem when you're speaking to someone who doesn't know the language well.

Last edited by hkanz at 12:26 pm, Aug 27 2014