BBC 6分钟英语学习 忘记了母语

6 min English

from BBC learning english dot com.

Hello. This is minutes English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Sam and I'm Rob. In this program, we'll be hearing about an issue experienced by many child refugees who are forced to leave their home, the loss of their 1st

native language or mother tongue, as they start a new life learning to speak a new language in a new country.

Juli Todivi and her family left their home in what would then Czechslovakia, and is now the Czech Republic during the Cold War.

When Julie was a small child, after several years traveling through Europe, they arrived in Canada as political refugees with no English.

We'll be hearing about julie's childhood when learning English started to replace her native language.

Check. And as usual, will be learning some new vocabulary as well.

But 1st, I have a question.

Rob Julie s family left their home as political refugees, but every year, millions of people are also displaced because of war, persecution or the damaging effects of climate change.

So according to the United Nations, how many people around the world are currently living as displaced refugees?

Is it a 3 million? B 53 million.

Or see, 103000000? I'll guess it's a hundred and 3 million.

Hmm, I'll reveal the answer later in the programme.

Rob Like many child refugees, julie spoke only her mother tongue check at home with her brothers, sisters and paren'ts, who in the beginning, spoke no English at all.

Here she describes to Michael Rosen present her a BBC radio for program Word of Mouth, going to an English speaking school for the 1st time.

So you went into school not to start off with really understanding what was going on.

Is that right? That's right. I just kind of interpreted things as best I could, and my memory of that is that that was not particularly difficult or traumatic.

I think by then I'd had the experience of being dunked into various unfamiliar languages numerous times, and I had faith that it would sort itself out and that everything would be just fine, and it was was, of course, at school, julie was dumped into unfamiliar situations, a bit like a biscuit being dumped into a cup of tea.

Often dunk means to dip something into a liquid.

But here the meaning is that Julie was suddenly dropped into a new situation for a while, then taken out as a family traveled through Europe.

By the time she arrived in Canada, julie had been exposed to several other languages, including Italian and French.

She had experienced many difficulties, but never given up hope of finding a new home.

Julie had faith, in other words, trust, or confidence, that everything would sort itself out, a phrase meaning to stop being a problem automatically, without having to do anything.

Over the following years, julie faced many challenges going to school and making friends, helping appearance as they struggled in the English speaking world, and grieving for her native language, which she slowly forgot, and with it the chance to speak check with her dad before he passed away.

Julie shares her thoughts on losing and refining her mother tongue.

In her book, memory speaks through it all.

Julie kept alive her belief that by speaking two, three or even more languages, we don't forget who we are, but instead gain a sense of tolerance.

An idea which she talked about with BBC radio, falls word of mouth, the idea that you can be both of Mexican ancestry, E.G.

and speak Spanish, and be a full fledged American, or, in my case, come from a country like the Czech Republic, continue to speak my language and be Canadian, and very proudly so, and very invested in Canada as a society.

There is a number of studies that suggest that the very presence of people with blended ideas in a society seem to lead to greater acceptance between groups.

It creates the sense that this is not an either or, that we can coexist.

Perhaps precisely because we have evidence that these cultures can coexist within a single person.

For Julie, there is no contradiction in being a Canadian refugee speaking check or a Spanish speaking immigrant who is a full fledged or fully developed American.

These are not either or situations, cases where there is only a choice between two options, with no 3rd possibility.

Instead, a peaceful coexistence can develop, as shown in the life of Julie Seddivi herself.

Right. It's time to reveal the answer to my question How many people around the world like Julie our living as displaced refugees?

Well, I

said it was 103 million. Was I right?

And that was the correct answer, rob a number which, according to the UN is only going to grow.

Now, it's time to recapt the vocabulary we've learned from this

program about losing our mother tongue, the native language we were brought up speaking, by our paren'ts.

If something is dumped, it's dipped into a liquid, like a biscuit and a cup of tea.

But if someone is dumped into a situation, they're suddenly

placed into a new and unfamiliar setting before being removed again after a short time.

If you have faith in something or someone, you have trust or confidence in them, the frasal verb to sort itself out means to stop being a problem without having to do anything.

The adjective full fledged means completely developed.

And finally, an either or is a situation where only a choice between two options is possible, with no 3rd alternative.

And that brings us to the end of this program.

Bye for now. Bye, bye. Six minute English from the BBC.

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