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Re: first lang test

From:Padraic Brown <pbrown@...>
Date:Wednesday, February 7, 2001, 21:39
On Wed, 7 Feb 2001, Dan Jones wrote:

>Dan Sulani wrote: > >> The test, as I heard once, is: >> A "first" lang is one that you, _when alone, by yourself_, automatically >> a. count (or do arithmetic) in >> b. cry in >> c. pray in (or whatever you do in times of great >inner >> turmoil) > >For me: >a. French >b. French >c. Anglo-Saxon.
For me: a: Gaelic, Spanish, French or English in scores b: none. Crying is crying. c: English. Except when attending Mass in Spanish, then I mumble along in Spanish. Also, regardless, I refuse to recite the Kyrie in anything but Greek.
>The last is rather odd, but when I'm scared I repeat over and over "Erce >Erce, eorthan modor", which is an Old English prayer to the Goddess of the >Earth. The first two are the language I spoke exclusively (along with >Breton, apparantly, although I have no memory of it) until playschool.
Makes sense. Padraic.
>Dan