Re: first lang test

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