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Poll: Are you married to someone who does not share the same native language as you?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jan 3, 2016

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Are you married to someone who does not share the same native language as you?".

This poll was originally submitted by Teresa Borges. View the poll results »



 
LilianNekipelov
LilianNekipelov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 10:57
Russian to English
+ ...
Yes and no. Jan 3, 2016

I don't really like the term "native language" since it is a very vague term. You may know some of my views if you participated in any of the discussions related to "native languages'. I speak Russian at a "native level" and my husband mostly speaks Russian and English, so yes and no. He does not speak Polish, not really but I do not speak it much in ordinary life either—mostly English and Russian.

 
EvaVer (X)
EvaVer (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:57
Czech to French
+ ...
No, but... Jan 3, 2016

sometimes I wonder when I hear him speak We are from different social environments and our language doesn't seem to be the same...

 
Terry Richards
Terry Richards
France
Local time: 15:57
French to English
+ ...
Other... Jan 3, 2016

I'm not sure whether US & UK English count as different languages or not. Some days, it seems like they should

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:57
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Jan 3, 2016

I was married to a such a spouse, but he's no longer living. We always spoke his language, and during the first years of our marriage we lived in a country where people spoke yet another language. My facial muscles used to get tired from constantly switching between the two languages all the time.

 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 15:57
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Not any more Jan 3, 2016

but for many years I (Danish) was married to a Frenchman and our home language was English - the 'mother tongue' of our daughter.

PS: We met and lived the first years in the US

[Edited at 2016-01-03 11:27 GMT]


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:57
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
A small explanation... Jan 3, 2016

I submitted this question so long ago that I can’t remember my exact wording but I believe it was slightly different. Anyway, when I worked in-house amidst a group of 20 Portuguese translators in Brussels I couldn’t fail to notice that many of them (male and female) were married to foreigners (Finnish, Italian, Dutch, Belgian, German, Brazilian, French, English and Spanish). So, out of curiosity I wonder if there is a tendency among us translators to marry a foreigner? By the way, I was mar... See more
I submitted this question so long ago that I can’t remember my exact wording but I believe it was slightly different. Anyway, when I worked in-house amidst a group of 20 Portuguese translators in Brussels I couldn’t fail to notice that many of them (male and female) were married to foreigners (Finnish, Italian, Dutch, Belgian, German, Brazilian, French, English and Spanish). So, out of curiosity I wonder if there is a tendency among us translators to marry a foreigner? By the way, I was married twice but never with a foreigner…

[Edited at 2016-01-03 11:49 GMT]
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Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 14:57
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Not sure ... Jan 3, 2016

I was married to an American at one time. Did we speak the same language? Sometimes ...

 
Luiz Barucke
Luiz Barucke  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 11:57
Spanish to Portuguese
+ ...
Portuguese and Spanish Jan 3, 2016

I speak Brazilian Portuguese, she speaks Spanish - we speak Spanish

 
Ventnai
Ventnai  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:57
German to English
+ ...
Native language Jan 3, 2016

The term "native language" is quite clear for the vast majority of people. It is the language that you speak from birth or within the critical period of development. Possibly also the language that you speak best. English is my native language and although I may speak good Spanish and German, they are not my native languages.

 
Rita Utt
Rita Utt  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:57
English to German
+ ...
Neutral ground Jan 3, 2016

I'm German, married to a Maroccan and live in France.
So French is our neutral common language.
But we spice it up with Maroccan and German, like "Frühstück" (German for breakfast). When we don't want to be understood we speek maroccan (he's nice enough to understand what I want to say).


 
LilianNekipelov
LilianNekipelov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 10:57
Russian to English
+ ...
Oh, I am sure English is the "native language" of most people Jan 3, 2016

Ian Jones wrote:

The term "native language" is quite clear for the vast majority of people. It is the language that you speak from birth or within the critical period of development. Possibly also the language that you speak best. English is my native language and although I may speak good Spanish and German, they are not my native languages.

these days. Just kidding, not entirely. Well it is not as simple and clear cut as you describe it, at least in the case of languages other than English but this thread is not about that. We wrote pages and pages about the problem some time ago.

[Edited at 2016-01-03 15:34 GMT]


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:57
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
So many mixed-language families nowadays Jan 3, 2016

I can't count myself among them as I lived in a very British environment until I was 38. But since I left the UK, I've come across no end of mixed families, and my own son is in a relationship with a French woman. In France I knew a Czech/Brit couple whose girl spoke all three languages; here in Spain it's a Bulgarian/British couple with a trilingual daughter. What a great start in life!

 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:57
Member (2006)
German to English
Yes Jan 3, 2016

I am Welsh, my wife is Hungarian and we live in Germany.

 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:57
English to Spanish
+ ...
Nice poll Jan 3, 2016

Teresa Borges wrote:

I submitted this question so long ago that I can’t remember my exact wording but I believe it was slightly different. Anyway, when I worked in-house amidst a group of 20 Portuguese translators in Brussels I couldn’t fail to notice that many of them (male and female) were married to foreigners (Finnish, Italian, Dutch, Belgian, German, Brazilian, French, English and Spanish). So, out of curiosity I wonder if there is a tendency among us translators to marry a foreigner? By the way, I was married twice but never with a foreigner…

[Edited at 2016-01-03 11:49 GMT]


I'm happy to see this inquisitive side of you, Teresa.

I would have liked a couple more answer options, such as Not married and/or Partnered or Other

When I was married, my spouse's native language was English. Although she had a bit of conceit in trying to correct me with just 18 months of Spanish in Uruguay.


 
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Poll: Are you married to someone who does not share the same native language as you?






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