Losing my English...

MinnaRaisanen · Post by **MinnaRaisanen** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 1:30 pm

Well, in the spirit of fluent Finnish, I have to wonder out loud about something. The more time I spend here, living in Finnish, the more I find my English vocab suffers

I search for words all the time, throwing the Finnish version at my friends back home

Obviously they have no idea what I'm talking about....

I have always been a lover of words games/activites, but now find that I struggle with those as well.....scary considering I was an English major at University.....

Anyone else go through this??

**Sponsor:**

bohica · Post by **bohica** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 1:33 pm

Maybe not as extreme as you, but yes. I've caught myself saying scary Finglish stuff.

gavin · Post by **gavin** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 1:40 pm

It's inevitable.

Most 'native' english speakers I meet through work assume that english is my second language. My family in the UK often get me to repeat what I'm trying to say.

It's sometimes fun when I can see people trying to guess where my accent is from.

Got a nice Welsh/Scottish/Finnish/Russian/Argentinean/Canadian thing going on

Make · Post by **Make** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 2:17 pm

I'm speaking english at home and work. So when I get at my parents who basically speak just dutch then I really have problems.

I'm missing so many words out of my vocabulary that I usually have to describe what I mean...

We on the other hand have at home an almost own language. It's mainly english what we speak, with dutch and finnish words through it, not just a few but loads. Some english words even get short versions... Like internet =intsu.

tgabawm · Post by **tgabawm** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 3:51 pm

Well, my mother tongue is French, I am fluent in English, and I speak only basic Finnish, but because I never speak French, and I mostly speak English with non natives, I am losing them both! When I came back to France last December for the first time after one year, the first days I couldn't express myself so easily... And my English now sometimes is a pity... I lose a lot of vocabulary... Don't know what to do...

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 4:03 pm

I went to an English school from kindergarten. Going to a Finnish high school I had to struggle as maths, chemistry, geography etc, had been taught in English even we had the last year of them prepped in Finnish I was half the time lost. But my English. As I could basically debate grammar issues with my teacher and win (I got mine whacked in by a pointer stick) so I got lazy and 3rd year I really had to pay attention in my Englsih test. After that its been a downhill. My grammar has deteriorated as has my vocabulary and spoken English is like a broken record. I've then been so much around peoples from different countries my Missouri twang has deteriorated to 'plain weird'. Too many South Africans I guess, asseblief.

But Minna, when I came back home from the ships I couldn't speak Finnish! Not spoken in a year I had one beer and said 'voi pewwwkeyley' ... looked at my friends, my glass, 'voi peRRRRRkele'

jeanlerymc · Post by **jeanlerymc** » Sat May 15, 2010 11:51 am

Working in a non-English speaking country will make you exert extra effort in communicating with people who are naturally citizens there. You will cope up with the lightest and simplest word in the dictionary just to relay all your thoughts to them. I have worked in Singapore and Malaysia too, in which people there ignore the proper English. Language barrier still exist everywhere in the area.

nismo · Post by **nismo** » Sat May 15, 2010 3:06 pm

MinnaRaisanen wrote:I have always been a lover of words games/activites, but now find that I struggle with those as well.....scary considering I was an English major at University.....

Anyone else go through this??

I think we all go through this, and it's especially hard when people expect you to speak like a native and you can't remember the words. But the constant prompting by people to ask what this word is in English can help.

I love word games too, so I made some magnetic tile (magnetic poetry style) software some time ago, I guess it could be used for any language as the files it uses are just text files. It won't help your memory so much, but the random words can help you remember that those words exist. If you're interested, let me know and I'll send you a copy. I only ever made it for my use though I remember that I gave a copy to a Romanian songwriter!

The manual can be found here with screenshots:
http://www.moominpappa.net/files/manual.html

Brynne · Post by **Brynne** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 8:41 pm

I can definitely relate. I enjoy writing stories and love words, and writing was always one of my best skills, but I find myself searching for words in English lately, too, and my grammar has suffered since the main person I speak English to is my husband (who is Finnish, and speaks English very, very well, but still says a few things a little off). Like now I say things like, "I want to visit there" (does that sound odd to you? I think it sounds odd, but I'm not sure anymore), and "How much is the clock?"

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 1:15 pm

Yes, I have definitely heard myself saying, "Is it so that...?"

RA · Post by RA » Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:27 am

penelope wrote:Yes, I have definitely heard myself saying, "Is it so that...?"

It is so that, I also have been saying that. Eugh!

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