Can you forget your mother tongue?

Normally, when a person learns a foreign language, he does so through his mother tongue, which has also been frequently referred to as L1. The L1 is that linguistic system that people acquire during their childhood and serves as an intermediary when it comes to taming an unknown language that little by little will take root in their mind.

Many will wonder if it is possible to forget the mother tongue after many years of living in a foreign country where a different language is spoken and we have stopped using our language native.

In this article we will explain if you can forget the mother tongue And if so, how could such a complex phenomenon come about?

• Related article: "Expressive function of language: what it is, characteristics and examples"

Can you forget your mother tongue?

When learning a foreign language, it is normal that we do it from our mother tongue, this being the system language that we have acquired during our stage of development, the intermediary when it comes to domesticating a new language.

We begin by translating unknown words into our language, until the new language gradually takes root in our minds.. We will get used to the pronunciation and the sounds, until we begin to use that new language directly, without needing our mother tongue.

Once you have managed to speak the new language automatically and directly, without the need to use your own native language as a reference to speak the language fluent foreigner, one wonders if after a long time they have been accustomed to using the new language on a daily basis, they may forget their mother tongue. The short answer is that you can, but partially, not completely; however, this is not the most common and must be qualified.

As a general rule, the mother tongue is never forgotten, but there are quite exceptional cases in which faculties can be lost with respect to the correct use of the mother tongue. Therefore, linguistic erosion can occur by losing some faculties to use the language with total fluency. produced by the lack of use of the same, but it will not be lost completely, the first symptom being the difficulty when it comes to find the exact words, producing quite frequently the phenomenon known as "having the word on the tip of the tongue".

In some research related to bilingualism and the learning of new languages, it has been found that when a person learns a language foreign, or even more, in your brain can lead to several linguistic systems being active simultaneously, fundamentally one for each language learned. However, in these cases, the mother tongue and the other languages ​​that have been learned later could interfere with each other, which would explain one of the reasons why the mother tongue can be forgotten.

• You may be interested: "Developmental Psychology: main theories and authors"

subtractive bilingualism

There is a concept called "subtractive bilingualism" that is related to forgetting or erosion of the mother tongue, which is why it is worth highlighting in this article, since it explains a case in which the mother tongue can be forgotten, at least in terms of fluency and correct use of it; This phenomenon occurs when the person is in the stage of development (childhood) and has only been using their mother tongue for a few years.

Subtractive bilingualism is a phenomenon that has been widely studied and consists of forgetting the mother tongue when a child ends up replacing it with a new language because in the new place where you live there is an obligation to learn a new language for various reasons, because it is the language of the community me when the mother tongue is undervalued in the new environment in which she lives.

Therefore, subtractive bilingualism is a phenomenon that can occur when a child who is in stage of development and learning, she lives in a territory in which she must develop two languages independent (p. For example, on the one hand she must speak her mother tongue at home with her family and at school she must use the language of the country to which they have emigrated).

• Related article: "10 psychological tips for learning languages"

Reasons why you can forget your mother tongue

There are several reasons why you can forget your mother tongue in terms of the ability to speak it fluently, so Below we will explain those that occur most frequently, noting that they are quite exceptional cases, since the majority of people do not want to lose their origins and often use their mother tongue quite often to communicate with relatives and friends of the country of origin.

1. An increasing command of a foreign language (L2)

When a person has lived in a foreign country for many years, it is normal for him to have developed an increasing command of the language spoken in that country (L2) and their exposure to their mother tongue has been significantly reduced (L1), so this is one of the main reasons why you can forget your mother tongue in terms of fluency to speak it, since it is not common to forget completely.

However, forgetfulness may begin to arise that prevents speaking the mother tongue fluently. Such forgetfulness can be detected when building the vocabulary of the mother tongue, which is the part of the mother tongue that most tends to erode; instead, knowledge of structure (grammar) and sound (phonology) are usually maintained.

In this case, the mother tongue (L1) may be forgotten when the system is frequently used. language of the foreign language (L2) and for a long time, living in the Foreign; while the native language, not being used, could gradually be forgotten, until a moment in which at brain has a hard time remembering it or, at least, would have difficulties remembering some aspects of the language maternal.

This it usually occurs in those cases in which a person does not usually communicate with people from their country of origin who also reside in the same foreign country in their native language, nor has he returned to his native country, so he has barely put his mother tongue into practice.

• You may be interested: "The Development of Literacy: Theories and Intervention"

2. Contact with the mother tongue

Another reason why the mother tongue can be forgotten in terms of fluency to speak it is in those cases in which a person living abroad relates mainly to the natives of that country, so what will begin to consolidate the use of the language of that country (L2) and will gradually forget various aspects of their own language (vocabulary, grammar, etc.) so that he would gradually forget his own language.

On the other hand, in those cases in which people who live abroad interact quite frequently with other people from the same country who also residing in that foreign country, they will frequently practice both languages, so it would be quite difficult for their language to be forgotten maternal.

The same happens in those cases where a person residing in a foreign country usually uses his or her mother tongue to communicate with relatives with whom you reside in that country (spouse or partner, children, etc.) or when you frequently visit or communicate with relatives who reside in the country of origin, so that he tends to use both languages ​​(L1 and L2) on a regular basis, so he cannot forget the language maternal.

• Related article: "Psycholinguistics: what it is, objectives and research areas"

3. The attitude towards the mother tongue and towards the new language

Another of the reasons why the mother tongue can be forgotten, which may be the most radical case and in which a greater forgetting of the native language, is the case in those people who have been exiled in other countries for various reasons (p. g., political reasons, wars, etc.) so that her home country gives her bad memories.

Therefore, these bad experiences could lead to a negative attitude towards their native language and, therefore, they will have a great motivation to integrate. as quickly as possible in the new country in which they reside and for this they will try to use exclusively the new language, leaving aside their language native.

An example of this process are the testimonies of people who emigrated when the Second World War and had to adapt to a new country, adopting its customs and learning its tongue. In these cases, the mother tongue can be forgotten due to war trauma.

Conclution

After having seen some examples that demonstrate when the mother tongue can be forgotten in terms of fluency when using it, we can know that these cases are quite exceptional, since the majority of people residing in a foreign country, although they may end up using their mother tongue (L1) less frequently than the new language they have learned in the country in which they reside (L2), they do not usually stop using their mother tongue to communicate with family members who continue to reside in their country native.

It may also be the case that they frequently use their native language to speak with their cohabitants (relatives or roommates who are from the same country of origin) or to talk with other compatriots residing in the same country Foreign. Therefore, forgetting the mother tongue is an exception, since in most cases the native language can coexist without difficulty with the new language. Even in those cases in which a person speaks more than two languages, it is not common for them to forget their mother tongue, so they could speak them all fluently.