Reactivate the core grammar: Our author once spoke solid Russian.
Image: Frank Röth
Born in Siberia, raised in Germany: Our author only speaks German, although her mother tongue is Russian. Today she is doing a language course – and is getting to know her own identity anew.
“Ochen ‘khorosho” – very good, praises the teacher when I show her my pitiful attempts at Russian cursive, with its many curves and ticks. I smile tortured and look at my work, which is more reminiscent of the first attempts at writing by an elementary school student than the handwriting of a twenty-nine year old. “Just practice,” she says in a broad Russian accent, before giving us homework for the coming week. “Poka!” I say before I close the laptop. Bye!
Many people feel the need to learn a foreign language at some point in their lives. So they enroll in adult education courses and language schools, impress friends at parties and write basic knowledge in their vita. But what if it is your own mother tongue? The language that everyone basically assumes that you are fluent in it – and react in astonishment when you have to say no? That’s how I feel.
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#Learning #Russian #Adult #mother #tongue