Poll: 1st Generation Americans(or UK), do you usually speak English or your mother tongue to your siblings?
People in my neighborhood, whose parents are from another country, usually speak English to their siblings but the mother tongue to their parents. Or if they don't want anyone else to know what they are talking about they will speak in the mother tongue, like if they are in a group. Why is it that they usually speak English to their siblings but their mother tongue to their parents? Or is it just happening in my area, and most people don't do that??
Anonymous2009-01-03T14:36:32Z
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all of my cousins that were born here speak english to us, my parents, even their parents. they barely speak creole.
i came here at 7. creole is spoken at my house. but we add a lot of wnglish sentences to it. my parents only add some words.
i think what you say happens everywhere.
the language would be more prominant with the first generation kids, if they lived in an area where mostly people of their nationality comes from
Because my parents prefer me talking in my mother tongue during conversations. We believe that we should be familiar w/ our heritage, language is no exception. As far as siblings concerned, the mother tongue kicks in when we want conversations to be private. Most of the times at home its just spontaneous. We do not "plan" to talk in mother tongue. It just happens.
Well I know people who speak English to both And I also know people who speak their mother tongue to both And also people who like you've said speak English to their siblings and their mother tongue to their parents. And lastly I also know people who speak their mother tongue to their siblings and English to their parents. Hope that covers it all :)
Ill answer your question. I speak english to my sister because we both speak it with ease. Personally I speak english way better then my mother language (the one I knew first). However with my parents I speak my mother language, portuguese because they speak broken english. But at school or in a place where most people speak english i will speak portuguese to people who speak it as well so that people will not eavesdrop.
my mom always speaks in my mother tongue (punjabi) to me, her siblings, and her parents because she wants us to stay close to our mother tongue.. maybe its just in ur area n the kind of people..?