Indigenous People Have Been Here Forever. Why Won't Archeologists Believe It?

[wnylib]

22. We had similarities in being exposed to other languages

besides English and other cultures besides the "mainstream" Anglo one.

I also heard German spoken but was not allowed to learn it at home. I found my great aunt's primer that she had used as a child to learn English. I thought I could use it to learn German, but when Aunt Emma discovered that I had it, she took it away and said, "You are American. You should speak English." But I did pick up a few German phrases from her because she reverted to German whenever she was upset at my misbehavior.

Plus, I picked up a few Italian swear words and hand gestures from kids in the neighborhood who got them from their grandparents

I also have picked up the ability to recognize what a language is when I hear it, even though I do not know any words in the language. The rhythm and voice inflection patterns are identifiable, as well as repetitive vowel or consonant sounds. I have trouble, though, distinguishing between Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian, but can identify that it is a Slavic language.

I had Latin and German in high school and Spanish in college, so I can distinguish between Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, even though I only know Spanish. I can recognize Urdu when I hear it. Also French, of course, which is easy for most people, I think. And I can hear the difference between Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese.

Exposure to different languages teaches you to recognize their patterns even when you don't know the language.