What's your first (second...) language, ...your first (second...) from?

[DNS]

Spanglish is the fastest growing language in the American Southwest. Everywhere you go you see people mixing Spanish and English; sometimes 50-50 (Latinos) or sometimes 90-10 (English first) among the gringos.

[mjaviem]

... French and English...

... a potpourri of phonetic innovation... fused and merged. The end result is...

Bonus: The sound of the Pali language.

[mikenz66]

... French and English...

That's wonderful. Reminded me of Bill Wyman's "Je Suis un Rock Star"



English has always been a "kitchen sink" language, with extensive addition and modification over the centuries. It continues to evolve according to local conditions, whether Canadian Franglais, Singaporean Singlish, or New Zealand English, which now includes quite a number of Māori words. Not to mention the bafflingly diverse and obscure dialects one encounters in the UK...

This can, of course, cause difficulties in communication. At international meetings you soon realise that it is important to speak in rather generic dialect, with your local dialect and slang minimized. Oddly, this is something that speakers of UK dialects of English sometimes overlook. Perhaps they feel that they still own the language...


Mike

[Coëmgenu]

And then there's Chiac:

The girl speaks a very "standard" French. The guy does not.

[PeaceLover]

Hello, I’m new here. Sinhala is my first language, but comparatively English is much easier. It’s funny how I was exposed to Buddhism both in Pali and Sinhala (in the Sanskrit-ized version of Pali) whole my life and didn’t really grasp the direct meanings of crucial dharma words (like skanda, paticcasamuppada).

But knowing the English meanings behind all those terms, made my understanding much easier. And looking back at what I was exposed to, it all make sense now. Dunno why my original language didn’t click with me when it came to Buddhism.