Forgetting My First Language

Advertisement



  forgetting my first language: First Language Attrition Monika S. Schmid, Barbara Köpke, 2013-05-22 This volume consists of a collection of papers that focus on structural/grammatical aspects of the process of first language attrition. It presents an overview of current research, methodological issues and important questions regarding first language attrition. In particular, it addresses the two most prominent issues in current L1 attrition research: Can attrition effects impact on features of core syntax, or are they limited to interface phenomena?, and; What is the role of age at onset (pre-/post-puberty) in this regard? By investigating attrition in a variety of settings, from a case study of a Spanish-speaking adoptee in the US to an empirical investigation of more than 50 long-term attriters of Turkish in the Netherlands, the investigations presented take a new perspective on these issues. Originally published in Language, Interaction and Acquisition - Langage, Interaction et Acquisition 2:2 (2011).
  forgetting my first language: Fluent Forever Gabriel Wyner, 2014-08-05 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • For anyone who wants to learn a foreign language, this is the method that will finally make the words stick. “A brilliant and thoroughly modern guide to learning new languages.”—Gary Marcus, cognitive psychologist and author of the New York Times bestseller Guitar Zero At thirty years old, Gabriel Wyner speaks six languages fluently. He didn’t learn them in school—who does? Rather, he learned them in the past few years, working on his own and practicing on the subway, using simple techniques and free online resources—and here he wants to show others what he’s discovered. Starting with pronunciation, you’ll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds. You’ll retrain your tongue to produce those sounds accurately, using tricks from opera singers and actors. Next, you’ll begin to tackle words, and connect sounds and spellings to imagery rather than translations, which will enable you to think in a foreign language. And with the help of sophisticated spaced-repetition techniques, you’ll be able to memorize hundreds of words a month in minutes every day. This is brain hacking at its most exciting, taking what we know about neuroscience and linguistics and using it to create the most efficient and enjoyable way to learn a foreign language in the spare minutes of your day.
  forgetting my first language: Memory Speaks Julie Sedivy, 2021-10-12 From an award-winning writer and linguist, a scientific and personal meditation on the phenomenon of language loss and the possibility of renewal. As a child Julie Sedivy left Czechoslovakia for Canada, and English soon took over her life. By early adulthood she spoke Czech rarely and badly, and when her father died unexpectedly, she lost not only a beloved parent but also her firmest point of connection to her native language. As Sedivy realized, more is at stake here than the loss of language: there is also the loss of identity. Language is an important part of adaptation to a new culture, and immigrants everywhere face pressure to assimilate. Recognizing this tension, Sedivy set out to understand the science of language loss and the potential for renewal. In Memory Speaks, she takes on the psychological and social world of multilingualism, exploring the human brainÕs capacity to learnÑand forgetÑlanguages at various stages of life. But while studies of multilingual experience provide resources for the teaching and preservation of languages, Sedivy finds that the challenges facing multilingual people are largely political. Countering the widespread view that linguistic pluralism splinters loyalties and communities, Sedivy argues that the struggle to remain connected to an ancestral language and culture is a site of common ground, as people from all backgrounds can recognize the crucial role of language in forming a sense of self. Distinctive and timely, Memory Speaks combines a rich body of psychological research with a moving story at once personal and universally resonant. As citizens debate the merits of bilingual education, as the worldÕs less dominant languages are driven to extinction, and as many people confront the pain of language loss, this is badly needed wisdom.
  forgetting my first language: The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingual Processing John W. Schwieter, 2015-08-06 How does a human acquire, comprehend, produce and control multiple languages with just the power of one mind? What are the cognitive consequences of being a bilingual? These are just a few of the intriguing questions at the core of studying bilingualism from psycholinguistic and neurocognitive perspectives. Bringing together some of the world's leading experts in bilingualism, cognitive psychology and language acquisition, The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingual Processing explores these questions by presenting a clear overview of current theories and findings in bilingual processing. This comprehensive handbook is organized around overarching thematic areas including theories and methodologies, acquisition and development, comprehension and representation, production, control, and the cognitive consequences of bilingualism. The handbook serves as an informative overview for researchers interested in cognitive bilingualism and the logic of theoretical and experimental approaches to language science. It also functions as an instrumental source of readings for anyone interested in bilingual processing.
  forgetting my first language: The Way of the Linguist Steve Kaufmann, 2005-11 The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey. It is now a cliché that the world is a smaller place. We think nothing of jumping on a plane to travel to another country or continent. The most exotic locations are now destinations for mass tourism. Small business people are dealing across frontiers and language barriers like never before. The Internet brings different languages and cultures to our finger-tips. English, the hybrid language of an island at the western extremity of Europe seems to have an unrivalled position as an international medium of communication. But historically periods of cultural and economic domination have never lasted forever. Do we not lose something by relying on the wide spread use of English rather than discovering other languages and cultures? As citizens of this shrunken world, would we not be better off if we were able to speak a few languages other than our own? The answer is obviously yes. Certainly Steve Kaufmann thinks so, and in his busy life as a diplomat and businessman he managed to learn to speak nine languages fluently and observe first hand some of the dominant cultures of Europe and Asia. Why do not more people do the same? In his book The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey, Steve offers some answers. Steve feels anyone can learn a language if they want to. He points out some of the obstacles that hold people back. Drawing on his adventures in Europe and Asia, as a student and businessman, he describes the rewards that come from knowing languages. He relates his evolution as a language learner, abroad and back in his native Canada and explains the kind of attitude that will enable others to achieve second language fluency. Many people have taken on the challenge of language learning but have been frustrated by their lack of success. This book offers detailed advice on the kind of study practices that will achieve language breakthroughs. Steve has developed a language learning system available online at: www.thelinguist.com.
  forgetting my first language: The Book of Laughter and Forgetting Milan Kundera, 2023-03-28 An absolutely dazzling entertainment. . . . Arousing on every level—political, erotic, intellectual, and above all, humorous. —Newsweek The Book of Laughter and Forgetting calls itself a novel, although it is part fairy tale, part literary criticism, part political tract, part musicology, and part autobiography. It can call itself whatever it wants to, because the whole is genius. —New York Times Rich in its stories, characters, and imaginative range, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting is the novel that brought Milan Kundera his first big international success in the late 1970s. Like all his work, it is valuable for far more than its historical implications. In seven wonderfully integrated parts, different aspects of human existence are magnified and reduced, reordered and emphasized, newly examined, analyzed, and experienced.
  forgetting my first language: Tune-Up Your French Natalie Schorr, 2009-07-03 Turn your rusty French language skills into polished conversation confidence Tune Up Your French offers you an entertaining and practical way to hone your French-language conversation skills. This book is structured around numerous key areas for improvement, covering everything from tricky grammatical structures to gestures, slang, and humor. In each area, key phrases are presented in “Top Ten” lists, including everyday expressions for filling pauses, icebreakers, and more. This book is excellent for brushing up on the French you studied in high school or college. The available audio download contains an engaging 70-minute program for learning key expressions from the book. It includes recordings of sixty Top 10 lists, organized for easy access and reference.
  forgetting my first language: Weird Olga Khazan, 2020-04-07 Learn why the concept of weird is being reclaimed and turned into a badge of honor, used to show how being different—culturally, socially, physically, or mentally—can be a person's greatest strength. Most of us have at some point in our lives felt like an outsider, sometimes considering ourselves too weird to fit in. Growing up as a Russian immigrant in West Texas, Olga Khazan always felt there was something different about her. This feeling has permeated her life, and as she embarked on a science writing career, she realized there were psychological connections between this feeling of being an outsider and both her struggles and successes later in life. She decided to reach out to other people who were unique in their environments to see if they had experienced similar feelings of alienation, and if so, to learn how they overcame them. Weird is based on in-person interviews with many of these individuals, such as a woman who is professionally surrounded by men, a liberal in a conservative area, and a Muslim in a predominantly Christian town. In addition, it provides actionable insights based on interviews with dozens of experts and a review of hundreds of scientific studies. Weird explores why it is that we crave conformity, how that affects people who are different, and what they can do about it. First, the book dives into the history of social norms and why some people hew to them more strictly than others. Next, Khazan explores the causes behind-and the consequences of-social rejection. She then reveals the hidden upsides to being weird, as well as the strategies that people who are different might use in order to achieve success in a society that values normalcy. Finally, the book follows the trajectories of unique individuals who either decided to be among others just like them; to stay weird; or to dwell somewhere in between. Combining Khazan's own story with those of others and with fascinating takeaways from cutting-edge psychology research, Weird reveals how successful individuals learned to embrace their weirdness, using it to their advantage.
  forgetting my first language: On Forgetting a Language Isabella Wang, 2019
  forgetting my first language: Speak: A Short History of Languages Tore Janson, 2002-03-14 This book is a history of human speech from prehistory to the present. It charts the rise of some languages and the fall of others, explaining why some survive and others die. It shows how languages change their sounds and meanings, and how the history of languages is closely linked to the history of peoples. Writing in a lively, readable style, distinguished Swedish scholar Tore Janson makes no assumptions about previous knowledge. He takes the reader on a voyage of exploration through the changing patterns of the world's languages, from ancient China to ancient Egypt, imperial Rome to imperial Britain, Sappho's Lesbos to contemporary Africa. He discovers the links between the histories of societies and their languages; he shows how language evolved from primitive calls; he considers the question of whether one language can be more advanced than another. The author describes the history of writing and looks at the impact of changing technology. He ends by assessing the prospects for English world domination and predicting the languages of the distant future. Five historical maps illustrate this fascinating history of our defining characteristic and most valuable asset.
  forgetting my first language: Fluent in 3 Months Benny Lewis, 2014-03-11 Benny Lewis, who speaks over ten languages—all self-taught—runs the largest language-learning blog in the world, Fluent In 3 Months. Lewis is a full-time language hacker, someone who devotes all of his time to finding better, faster, and more efficient ways to learn languages. Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World is a new blueprint for fast language learning. Lewis argues that you don't need a great memory or the language gene to learn a language quickly, and debunks a number of long-held beliefs, such as adults not being as good of language learners as children.
  forgetting my first language: Neurolanguage Coaching Rachel Paling, 2017-03-01 Neurolanguage Coaching is a model that brings together crucial findings in the fields of neuroscience and integrates these into a coaching process to revolutionise language learning as we know it.
  forgetting my first language: The Book of Learning and Forgetting Frank Smith, 1998-04-02 In this thought-provoking book, Frank Smith explains how schools and educational authorities systematically obstruct the powerful inherent learning abilities of children, creating handicaps that often persist through life. The author eloquently contrasts a false and fabricated “official theory” that learning is work (used to justify the external control of teachers and students through excessive regulation and massive testing) with a correct but officially suppressed “classic view” that learning is a social process that can occur naturally and continually through collaborative activities. This book will be crucial reading in a time when national authorities continue to blame teachers and students for alleged failures in education. It will help educators and parents to combat sterile attitudes toward teaching and learning and prevent current practices from doing further harm.
  forgetting my first language: The Forgetting Nicole Maggi, 2015-02-03 Her new heart saved her life...now she's losing her mind. When Georgie Kendrick wakes up after a heart transplant she feels...different. The organ beating in her chest isn't in tune with the rest of her body. Like it still belongs to someone else. Someone with terrible memories...memories that are slowly replacing her own. A dark room, a man in the shadows, the sharp taste of adrenaline — these are her donor's final memories. Pieces of a deadly puzzle. And if Georgie doesn't want them to be the last thing she remembers, she has to find out the truth behind her donor's death...before she loses herself completely. Fans of Lisa McMann and April Henry will devour this edgy, gripping thriller with a twist readers won't see coming!
  forgetting my first language: Echolalias Daniel Heller-Roazen, 2005 A far-reaching philosophical investigation into the persistence and disappearance of speech, in individuals and in linguistic communities. Just as speech can be acquired, so can it be lost. Speakers can forget words, phrases, even entire languages they once knew; over the course of time peoples, too, let go of the tongues that were once theirs, as languages disappear and give way to the others that follow them. In Echolalias, Daniel Heller-Roazen reflects on the many forms of linguistic forgetfulness, offering a far-reaching philosophical investigation into the persistence and disappearance of speech. In twenty-one brief chapters, he moves among classical, medieval, and modern culture, exploring the interrelations of speech, writing, memory, and oblivion. Drawing his examples from literature, philosophy, linguistics, theology, and psychoanalysis, Heller-Roazen examines the points at which the transience of speech has become a question in the arts, disciplines, and sciences in which language plays a prominent role. Whether the subject is Ovid, Dante, or modern fiction, classical Arabic literature or the birth of the French language, structuralist linguistics or Freud's writings on aphasia, Heller-Roazen considers with clarity, precision, and insight the forms, the effects, and the ultimate consequences of the forgetting of language. In speech, he argues, destruction and construction often prove inseparable. Among peoples, the disappearance of one language can mark the emergence of another; among individuals, the experience of the passing of speech can lie at the origin of literary, philosophical, and artistic creation. From the infant's prattle to the legacy of Babel, from the holy tongues of Judaism and Islam to the concept of the dead language and the political significance of exiled and endangered languages today, Echolalias traces an elegant, erudite, and original philosophical itinerary, inviting us to reflect in a new way on the nature of the speaking animal who forgets.
  forgetting my first language: Pepita Talks Twice / Pepita habla dos veces Ofelia Dumas Lachtman, 1995-10-31 Pepita, a little girl who can converse in Spanish and English, decides not to speak twice until unanticipated problems cause her to think twice about her decision.
  forgetting my first language: Ask a Manager Alison Green, 2018-05-01 From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together
  forgetting my first language: Building a Second Brain Tiago Forte, 2022-06-14 Building a second brain is getting things done for the digital age. It's a ... productivity method for consuming, synthesizing, and remembering the vast amount of information we take in, allowing us to become more effective and creative and harness the unprecedented amount of technology we have at our disposal--
  forgetting my first language: The Little Prince Antoine de Saint−Exupery, 2021-08-31 The Little Prince and nbsp;(French: and nbsp;Le Petit Prince) is a and nbsp;novella and nbsp;by French aristocrat, writer, and aviator and nbsp;Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the US by and nbsp;Reynal and amp; Hitchcock and nbsp;in April 1943, and posthumously in France following the and nbsp;liberation of France and nbsp;as Saint-Exupéry's works had been banned by the and nbsp;Vichy Regime. The story follows a young prince who visits various planets in space, including Earth, and addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. Despite its style as a children's book, and nbsp;The Little Prince and nbsp;makes observations about life, adults and human nature. The Little Prince and nbsp;became Saint-Exupéry's most successful work, selling an estimated 140 million copies worldwide, which makes it one of the and nbsp;best-selling and nbsp;and and nbsp;most translated books and nbsp;ever published. and nbsp;It has been translated into 301 languages and dialects. and nbsp;The Little Prince and nbsp;has been adapted to numerous art forms and media, including audio recordings, radio plays, live stage, film, television, ballet, and opera.
  forgetting my first language: Tolstoy Together: 85 Days of War and Peace with Yiyun Li Yiyun Li, A Public Space, 2021-08-10 A reader's companion for Tolstoy's epic novel, War and Peace, inspired by the online book club led by Yiyun Li. For the writer Yiyun Li, whenever life has felt uncertain, War and Peace has been the novel she turns to. In March 2020, as the pandemic tightened its grip, Li and A Public Space launched #TolstoyTogether, a War and Peace book club, on Twitter and Instagram, gathering a community (that came to include writers such as Joyce Carol Oates, Garth Greenwell, and Carl Phillips) for 85 days of prompts, conversation, succor, and pleasure. It was an experience shaped not only by the time in which they read but also the slow, consistent rhythm of the reading. And the extraordinary community that gathered for a moment each day to discuss Tolstoy, history, and the role of art in a time like this. Tolstoy Together captures that moment, and offers a guided, communal experience for past and new readers, lovers of Russian literature, and all those looking for what Li identifies as his level-headedness and clear-sightedness offer[ing] a solidity during a time of duress.
  forgetting my first language: When the Emperor Was Divine Julie Otsuka, 2007-12-18 From the bestselling, award-winning author of The Buddha in the Attic and The Swimmers, this commanding debut novel paints a portrait of the Japanese American incarceration camps that is both a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and a resonant lesson for our times. On a sunny day in Berkeley, California, in 1942, a woman sees a sign in a post office window, returns to her home, and matter-of-factly begins to pack her family's possessions. Like thousands of other Japanese Americans they have been reclassified, virtually overnight, as enemy aliens and are about to be uprooted from their home and sent to a dusty incarceration camp in the Utah desert. In this lean and devastatingly evocative first novel, Julie Otsuka tells their story from five flawlessly realized points of view and conveys the exact emotional texture of their experience: the thin-walled barracks and barbed-wire fences, the omnipresent fear and loneliness, the unheralded feats of heroism. When the Emperor Was Divine is a work of enormous power that makes a shameful episode of our history as immediate as today's headlines.
  forgetting my first language: Polyglot: How I Learn Languages Kat— Lomb, 2008-01-01 KAT LOMB (1909-2003) was one of the great polyglots of the 20th century. A translator and one of the first simultaneous interpreters in the world, Lomb worked in 16 languages for state and business concerns in her native Hungary. She achieved further fame by writing books on languages, interpreting, and polyglots. Polyglot: How I Learn Languages, first published in 1970, is a collection of anecdotes and reflections on language learning. Because Dr. Lomb learned her languages as an adult, after getting a PhD in chemistry, the methods she used will be of particular interest to adult learners who want to master a foreign language.
  forgetting my first language: Free Food for Millionaires Min Jin Lee, 2017-08-10 The brilliant debut novel from the New York Times-bestselling author of Pachinko. 'Ambitious, accomplished, engrossing... As easy to devour as a nineteenth-century romance.' NEW YORK TIMES Casey Han's years at Princeton have given her a refined diction, an enviable golf handicap, a popular white boyfriend and a degree in economics. The elder daughter of working-class Korean immigrants, Casey inhabits a New York a world away from that of her parents. But she has no job, and a number of bad habits. So when a chance encounter with an old friend lands her a new opportunity, she's determined to carve a space for herself in a glittering world of privilege, power, and wealth – but at what cost? As Casey navigates an uneven course of small triumphs and spectacular failures, a clash of values and ambitions plays out against the colourful backdrop of New York society, its many shades and divides. Addictively readable, Min Jin Lee's bestselling debut Free Food for Millionaires exposes the intricate layers of a community clinging to its old ways in a city packed with haves and have-nots. 'Explores the most funadmental crisis of immigrants' children: how to bridge a generation gap so wide it is measured in oceans.' Observer 'A remarkable writer.' The Times
  forgetting my first language: Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro, 2009-03-19 NOBEL PRIZE WINNER • The moving, suspenseful, beautifully atmospheric modern classic from the acclaimed author of The Remains of the Day and Klara and the Sun—“a Gothic tour de force (The New York Times) with an extraordinary twist. “Brilliantly executed.” —Margaret Atwood “A page-turner and a heartbreaker.” —TIME “Masterly.” —Sunday Times As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special—and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together.
  forgetting my first language: Emotions and Multilingualism Aneta Pavlenko, 2005 Pavlenko challenges the monolingual bias of modern linguistics and psychology by bringing together insights from many different fields.
  forgetting my first language: Forgetting English Midge Raymond, 2017-02-01 Winner of the Spokane Prize for Short Fiction In this new, expanded edition of her prize-winning collection, which includes a reading group guide, Midge Raymond stretches the boundaries of place as she explores the indelible imprint of home upon the self and the ways in which new frontiers both defy and confirm who we are. The characters who inhabit these stories travel for business or for pleasure, sometimes out of duty and sometimes in search of freedom, and each encounters the unexpected. From a biologist navigating the stark, icy moonscape of Antarctica to a businesswoman seeking refuge in the lonely islands of the South Pacific, the characters in these stories abandon their native landscapes—only to find that, once separated from the ordinary, they must confront new interpretations of whom they really are, and who they’re meant to be.
  forgetting my first language: The Hidden Brain Shankar Vedantam, 2010-08-31 The hidden brain is the voice in our ear when we make the most important decisions in our lives—but we’re never aware of it. The hidden brain decides whom we fall in love with and whom we hate. It tells us to vote for the white candidate and convict the dark-skinned defendant, to hire the thin woman but pay her less than the man doing the same job. It can direct us to safety when disaster strikes and move us to extraordinary acts of altruism. But it can also be manipulated to turn an ordinary person into a suicide terrorist or a group of bystanders into a mob. In a series of compulsively readable narratives, Shankar Vedantam journeys through the latest discoveries in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science to uncover the darkest corner of our minds and its decisive impact on the choices we make as individuals and as a society. Filled with fascinating characters, dramatic storytelling, and cutting-edge science, this is an engrossing exploration of the secrets our brains keep from us—and how they are revealed.
  forgetting my first language: A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara, 2016-01-26 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.
  forgetting my first language: The Bilingual Brain Arturo E. Hernandez, 2013-11 Arturo Hernandez presents the results of 25 years of research into the factors that might help us to understand how two (or more) languages are stored in one brain. It is clear that the brain is not egalitarian—some languages are privileged and others are not, but why?
  forgetting my first language: The Wrong Passport Yaldaz Sadakova, 2020-03-16 This captivating collection of long-form personal essays pushes back against many of the stereotypical depictions of immigrants in mainstream media and popular culture. In The Wrong Passport, Yaldaz Sadakova explores an array of immigration experiences with nuance, masterful storytelling and unflinching honesty. These experiences include being a poor foreigner in an Ivy League school; burying big career dreams due to visa restrictions; being bullied at work because of her precarious immigration status; dealing with bias against non-native English speakers; frequently encountering the annoying Where are you from? question; feeling shame and distress about forgetting her mother tongue; becoming estranged from her Turkish Muslim heritage; finding it difficult to make new friends and establish a social support network as a foreigner who happens to be an introvert; and more. This insightful relatable book is essential reading for anyone obsessed with the big questions around borders, migration, belonging, identity and language.
  forgetting my first language: Forgetting Douwe Draaisma, 2015-03-01 In his highly praised book The Nostalgia Factory, renowned memory scholar Douwe Draaisma explored the puzzling logic of memory in later life with humor and deep insight. In this compelling new book he turns to the “miracle” of forgetting. Far from being a defect that may indicate Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, Draaisma claims, forgetting is one of memory’s crucial capacities. In fact, forgetting is essential. Weaving together an engaging array of literary, historical, and scientific sources, the author considers forgetting from every angle. He pierces false clichés and asks important questions: Is a forgotten memory lost forever? What makes a colleague remember an idea but forget that it was yours? Draaisma explores “first memories” of young children, how experiences are translated into memory, the controversies over repression and “recovered” memories, and weird examples of memory dysfunction. He movingly examines the impact on personal memories when a hidden truth comes to light. In a persuasive conclusion the author advocates the undervalued practice of “the art of forgetting”—a set of techniques that assist in erasing memories, thereby preserving valuable relationships and encouraging personal contentment.
  forgetting my first language: Public Forgetting Bradford Vivian, 2015-10-13 Forgetting is usually juxtaposed with memory as its opposite in a negative way: it is seen as the loss of the ability to remember, or, ironically, as the inevitable process of distortion or dissolution that accompanies attempts to commemorate the past. The civic emphasis on the crucial importance of preserving lessons from the past to prevent us from repeating mistakes that led to violence and injustice, invoked most poignantly in the call of “Never again” from Holocaust survivors, tends to promote a view of forgetting as verging on sin or irresponsibility. In this book, Bradford Vivian hopes to put a much more positive spin on forgetting by elucidating its constitutive role in the formation and transformation of public memory. Using examples ranging from classical rhetoric to contemporary crises like 9/11, Public Forgetting demonstrates how, contrary to conventional wisdom, communities may adopt idioms of forgetting in order to create new and beneficial standards of public judgment concerning the lessons and responsibilities of their shared past.
  forgetting my first language: Shatter Me Tahereh Mafi, 2011-11-15 The gripping first installment in New York Times bestselling author Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series. One touch is all it takes. One touch, and Juliette Ferrars can leave a fully grown man gasping for air. One touch, and she can kill. No one knows why Juliette has such incredible power. It feels like a curse, a burden that one person alone could never bear. But The Reestablishment sees it as a gift, sees her as an opportunity. An opportunity for a deadly weapon. Juliette has never fought for herself before. But when she’s reunited with the one person who ever cared about her, she finds a strength she never knew she had. And don’t miss Defy Me, the shocking fifth book in the Shatter Me series!
  forgetting my first language: The 4-Hour Work Week Timothy Ferriss, 2007 Offers techniques and strategies for increasing income while cutting work time in half, and includes advice for leading a more fulfilling life.
  forgetting my first language: Bringing Up a Bilingual Child Rita Rosenback, 2014-06-10 'Bringing up a Bilingual Child' is aimed at (existing or soon-to-be) parents in families where more than one language is spoken, as well as anyone in the extended circle of family and friend of such multilingual families, as well as for anyone coming into contact with them. The aim of the book is to help multilingual families to create a supportive environment for children in which they naturally grow up to speak more than one language. The intention is to give you an easy-to-read-and-use guide to multilingual parenting, providing motivation, ideas, advice and answers to any questions parents may have.
  forgetting my first language: Bilingual Success Stories Around the World Adam Beck, 2021-07-19 Bilingual Success Stories Around the World is a real-life roadmap to greater success and joy for any parent raising bilingual or multilingual children. Written by Adam Beck, author of the popular guide Maximize Your Child's Bilingual Ability.
  forgetting my first language: The Ascent of Man Jacob Bronowski, 2009
  forgetting my first language: America's Bilingual Century Steve Leveen, 2021-01-04 How can Americans make our country stronger, kinder, smarter? By marshaling our enviable can-do ethic and learning another language. We can do it, no matter what our age: author Steve Leveen chose Spanish as his adopted language in midlife. America's Bilingual Century is filled with tips for learning a language, some mechanical--like changing your phone and laptop settings to your adopted language--and some philosophical. For instance, start by having a place in your life where you'll use the language, Steve says. The where makes the how more attainable. And recognize that, as with any adoption, you do it for love, and for life--so don't fret when you're not fluent in five months. If you have kids, start them young. You'll be glad you did when you read about the explosive growth of dual language schools across the country and the significant, measurable advantages they give our young people. Steve also takes us to the top summer language immersion camps, for both children and adults. And he shares his findings from leading language scholars, teachers, sociolinguists, app creators, and bilinguals of all stripes that he discovered during his dozen years of research. Then he topples 12 myths about Americans and languages that no longer hold in this century. Like thinking the whole world speaks English (it doesn't), that being monolingual is natural (it isn't), and that Americans suck at language (quite the opposite, as he demonstrates). Here and now in the 21st century, America is embracing its many ethnic and cultural heritages. How natural, then, that we enfold the many languages that these heritages thrive on as part of that quintessentially American pursuit of happiness. If you've never thought of bilingualism as being a patriotic act, America's Bilingual Century may persuade you otherwise. Knowing a second language changes the way we perceive the world, and the way the world perceives us. English is what unites us, Steve says. Our other languages are what define and strengthen us. And even if becoming bilingual leans more toward aspiration than arrival, that's okay. The journey is as rewarding as the destination.
  forgetting my first language: Forgetting Jane C. J. Warrant, 2016-06-28 Amnesia and an unspeakable crime have stolen everything from Jane Doe except the haunting image of a girl in a yellow dress, which replays itself over and over in her mind. Small town cop Elias McAvoy is haunted as well, by the crushing guilt he feels over the deaths of two women, one by his own hand. He can't-he won't-let Jane down too. Together they delve deeper into Jane's case, battling against her memory loss, and an increasingly tangled web of lies and murder that span forty years-and ties Elias and Jane together in ways they never imagined. As the mystery of the girl in the yellow dress unfold, so does Elias and Jane's love for each other. However, when the killer reappears, intent on finishing what he started, Elias must face his demons in order to save the woman he loves or lose her forever.
  forgetting my first language: How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately Boris Shekhtman, 2003 This book provides a unique set of tools designed to enhance an individual's success in communicati0n in a foreign language environment. The devices presented allow the speaker of a foreign language to demonstrate the level of his/her language more impressively. These techniques were developed and tested by the author with adult professionals in such varied fields as journalism, diplomacy, government, and international business.
The Psychology of Forgetting and Why Memory Fails - Verywell …
May 1, 2025 · Learn the theories about why forgetting occurs, including the influence of factors like time, interference, and context. We also share how forgetting is measured.

When is forgetting normal — and when is it worrisome? A ... - NPR
Jun 6, 2025 · When is forgetting normal — and when is it worrisome? A neuroscientist weighs in Do you have trouble remembering names or where you put your keys? Neurologist Charan …

Theories of Forgetting in Psychology
Apr 19, 2025 · Forgetting information from short term memory (STM) can be explained using the theories of trace decay and displacement. Forgetting from long term memory (LTM) can be …

Forgetting - Wikipedia
Forgetting or disremembering is the apparent loss or modification of information already encoded and stored in an individual's short or long-term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual …

Why Forgetting is Good for Your Memory
Jul 28, 2021 · Psychiatry News spoke with Dr. Small about the science of memory, how memory and forgetting work together, the difference between routine and “pathological” forgetting, and …

Forgetfulness: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment - Verywell Health
Oct 21, 2022 · Forgetfulness is a normal part of life, and it’s common to grow more forgetful as you age. Still, it can be scary and make you concerned about developing Alzheimer’s disease, …

Why forgetting is a normal function of memory – and when to …
Feb 14, 2024 · When we remember something, our brains need to learn it (encode), keep it safe (store) and recover it when needed (retrieve). Forgetting can occur at any point in this process. …

Forgetfulness — 7 types of normal memory problems
Feb 12, 2021 · How can you tell whether your memory lapses are normal forgetfulness and within the scope of normal aging or are a symptom of something more serious? Healthy people can …

Memory Loss - Psychology Today
Forgetting can be frustrating when one notices it, but much of what people forget escapes memory quietly. Experts say it's a feature, not a bug, of the way memory works.

5 Theories of Forgetting (Memory) - Practical Psychology
Sep 21, 2023 · The five theories of forgetting include: Displacement theory; Trace decay theory; Interference theory; Retrieval failure theory; Consolidation theory; Theory #1: Displacement …

The Psychology of Forgetting and Why Memory Fails - Verywell …
May 1, 2025 · Learn the theories about why forgetting occurs, including the influence of factors like time, interference, and context. We also share how forgetting is measured.

When is forgetting normal — and when is it worrisome? A ... - NPR
Jun 6, 2025 · When is forgetting normal — and when is it worrisome? A neuroscientist weighs in Do you have trouble remembering names or where you put your keys? Neurologist Charan …

Theories of Forgetting in Psychology
Apr 19, 2025 · Forgetting information from short term memory (STM) can be explained using the theories of trace decay and displacement. Forgetting from long term memory (LTM) can be …

Forgetting - Wikipedia
Forgetting or disremembering is the apparent loss or modification of information already encoded and stored in an individual's short or long-term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual …

Why Forgetting is Good for Your Memory
Jul 28, 2021 · Psychiatry News spoke with Dr. Small about the science of memory, how memory and forgetting work together, the difference between routine and “pathological” forgetting, and …

Forgetfulness: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment - Verywell Health
Oct 21, 2022 · Forgetfulness is a normal part of life, and it’s common to grow more forgetful as you age. Still, it can be scary and make you concerned about developing Alzheimer’s disease, …

Why forgetting is a normal function of memory – and when to …
Feb 14, 2024 · When we remember something, our brains need to learn it (encode), keep it safe (store) and recover it when needed (retrieve). Forgetting can occur at any point in this process. …

Forgetfulness — 7 types of normal memory problems
Feb 12, 2021 · How can you tell whether your memory lapses are normal forgetfulness and within the scope of normal aging or are a symptom of something more serious? Healthy people can …

Memory Loss - Psychology Today
Forgetting can be frustrating when one notices it, but much of what people forget escapes memory quietly. Experts say it's a feature, not a bug, of the way memory works.

5 Theories of Forgetting (Memory) - Practical Psychology
Sep 21, 2023 · The five theories of forgetting include: Displacement theory; Trace decay theory; Interference theory; Retrieval failure theory; Consolidation theory; Theory #1: Displacement …