I'm forgetting my native language......?

Question

I was born in the uk but i went to a french speaking school ( i took the french back) and 70% of the time, i speak french at home, however i speak only english with my friends. Even though i have never lived in france, i like to think french is my native language/ mother tongue, yet ever since i have left school i feel my level has dipped dramatically, i often take more time to form more complicated sentences, i struggle to find the proper words. I have recently started reading again and find my vocabulary isn't as good as it used to be either. It was never great, but that's because i foolishly disliked reading as a child . How i regret not reading, i'm really paying for that mistake now. Then again i'm also convinced i'm going to lose my french, for no reason, so maybe subconsciously, i am forcing myself to forget french. I know it sounds that sounds dumb. But i can't help it. Has this happened/ Is this happening to you right now? How did you solve this problem? How can i maintain and improve my vocabulary? Thank you.

Answer 1

I am sort of going through the same thing. German was my first language, as I am from Germany, but I quickly had to learn English because it is the only language that my parents know together (dad speaks Arabic, mum speaks Portuguese). I spoke only English and Arabic at home. I now attend a university in America and what's strange is that my English has gotten worse. My German is perfect but recently I have been having a hard time putting sentences together and remembering word order. I now read a lot of American and British literature to help me not forget. I still find it strange that my English has gotten worse while in America. This paragraph alone took me some time to write... ;P  

Answer 2

I'm from Germany and moved to California two years ago and I know what you are talking about. My mum and my friends sometimes make fun of me, because I started to forget words. But the thing is that I am only forgetting words that are pretty specific, on the other hand, I am using much simpler language now then I did before. It's a pretty fascinating subject, but even though language needs practice to stay alive, I want to believe that at one point it has to be like riding a bike

If you know what I mean ;-)

Answer 3

J'habite aux US depuis plus de 30 ans et pour ne pas oublier ma langue natale - 1. je vais en France chaque année

2. Je lis des livres d'auteurs français (non traduits)

3. Je lis Le Monde sur Internet

4. Je regarde TV 5 international (il vous faut dishnetwork pour avoir la chaine = $6.50 par mois

5. Par la page web de Yahoo, je rencontre des Français et Francophiles une fois par mois (quelquefois plus); nous organisons des causeries, nous célèbrons les fêtes françaises (Noël, la fete des rois, Mardi-gras, le 14 juillet) , sans oublier le Beaujolais nouveau!

6. Je vais voir les films français qui passent dans ma ville

Answer 4

http://myhappyplanet.com/index.php?err=l...