journal features

I've forgotten Japanese

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Tokyo, 2010.12.11

The timing of my return was intended to coincide with a performance at Kenny's day care. Today we attended that, and I couldn't speak.

I was getting half-way competent with the Japanese language before I left. Well, the spoken language, anyway. Competent enough that some friends, in compiling a video "goodbye" for Kenny, Mari, and me included a special bit at the end recording me conversing with them in their language. But to my dismay my feeble listening skills have diminished and I couldn't remember how to say some things that I'd easily have rattled off six weeks ago.

It doesn't take much to forget a language that you've learned as an adult. My Opa lost most of his English speaking ability toward the end of his life, and that's after 35 years in Canada. I guess five years with this insanely difficult language wasn't enough for my poor unilingual brain. I expect I'll be a bit useless in the next few weeks.

rand()m quote

The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love, and in order to occupy and distract himself without love he gives way to passions and coarse pleasures, and sinks to bestiality in his vices, all from continual lying to other men and to himself.

—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov