I think we are fast approaching that time when AI will be fully integrated with our mobile device that we will have instantaneous universal translator not unlike what we saw in Star Trek. I think learning a foreign language is great but just as abacus became obsolete with introduction of calculator, the need to learn foreign language for the sake of communication will go the way of dinosaur, I am afraid.

 

The earbud tied to your phone so you hear the translation directly.
But AI isn't there yet. They have to figure out how to get AI to tell the truth.
Right now, AI will 'fill in the gaps' in it's knowledge.
You can see it on a bunch of pictures where folks have 3 legs or 6 fingers.
That could be scary in important discussions.

 

I spoke Italian in our family until I was almost three. My Italian grandmother who came to the US as a teen learned to speak English without any Italian accent and with a full Boston accent. But, my Italian grandfather lagged severely behind. So, my grandmother set a rule that no Italian was to be spoken in the house until my grandfather got up to speed. My grandmother was not bashful about asking you to leave the table if you said something in Italian. Accordingly, I lost 90% of my Italian. I can understand the general thrust of a conversation but cannot participate in it.

As to German, I took four years of it in high school which was mandatory if you were in the college prep Scientific Program. I scored very high in the German SAT exam. I lost 99% of that due to never having a need for it.

 

Both sets of my grandparents spoke Yiddish. They all learned to understand English but they were much more comfortable in Yiddish. Growing up my parents spoke English at home except when they didn't want me and my sisters to understand what they were saying. Over the years, the three of us picked up the language but never let on to our parents or grandparents that we knew what they were saying. The knowledge of the language served me will during my years in the clothing business. I can understand Yiddish and speak a little, but I haven't used it in years and little by little I'm losing the language.

I will never forget the Passover Sedars that my mother and Aunt Sarah used to make. Both of my grandfathers would sit at the head of the table with my father and my Uncle Dave on either side. My Zeddah (my father's father) who was educated before he came to America would recite the prayers in Hebrew. My Grandfather (my mother's father) would repeat them in Yiddish and my father, my Uncle Dave and a few of the other Uncles and Aunts would repeat them in English. Those Passover Sedars went on until I was about 10 but I'll never forget them.

Like everything else, language has to be used or its forgotten. When I first met Liz she was fluent in Toisoinese (a dialect of Cantonese). It was a joy to go into a Chinese restaurant with her. I never knew what she ordered until it came out. Over the years Liz has had much less opportunity to use the language. We moved to New Jersey 30 years ago and there isn't much Toisoinese spoken out here. And, to make matters worse, the new Chinese immigrants now speak Mandarin which is completely different. Lately, Liz is starting to feel like her command of the language is slipping.

 

I forgot to tell about my one weird Italian thing. My grandfather was an avid string player. He played different types of guitar, the banjo, and types of mandolin. When an Italian song, Nel Blu del Dipinto di Blu became popular in the US, my grandfather learned the music. So, I learned it to sing along with him. I can still sing it in Italian today. Why it stuck with me for 75 years I will never know but I treasure it.

 

I took Latin (two years I think) in high school and did quite well. Don't ask me why and don't ask me to translate anything. I also took French in school. My parents both spoke French fluently. French Canadian. My brother's first language was French as a young child. When I was younger, if my parents and their family members spoke French, I could grasp some of the conversation, but could not converse. I may have a few phrases stuck in my head but that's about it. Rick's mother and her family were also French Canadian. She and her sisters would speak French from time to time.

When Rick's Mom pretty much had stopped communicating due to Alzheimer's, if you asked her how she was in French, you would get an answer. Weird how that works!

 

Lainey do you find that there are or were at one point a lot of French Canadians that migrated to your area? Reason I ask is my Grandfather settled in to Fall River when he left Canada. I know that there was always a large Portuguese population in Fall River/New Bedford but don’t remember a lot of French Canadians.

 

Back in the day, yes. There were many textile mills that provided them with work. There were Catholic Churches with the Mass being said in French. My elementary school and my high school were both French parishes. There were other parishes for Polish, Portuguese as well. Over the years, we saw more of the Portuguese and less of the French families moving into the area. Now the area is a real melting pot.

 

My Great Aunt was a nun and she also came from Canada and settled in Fall River. I don’t remember how much English she spoke.

 

Robb there were a large number of Quebecois that came down to work the mills.
So lot's in Lowell, Nashua and Lawrence. I suspect it was the same for the fall river area but they may have moved into others areas.

Harry, my wife's 4 grandparents are all Italian, the story of only speaking English at home was a common refrain since they wanted to be able to join general culture.
They knew if they defaulted to Italian they would never make eh transition.
Sadly none of the kids learned Italian,.

Rob, I dearly miss going out with my chinese buddies and have them order the food.
I don't know half of the dishes they ordered, knowledge I dearly wish I had today.