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A comment on A small town in Sweden fights to preserve Elfdalian, a dying forest language. Parent comment

Re:A small town in Sweden fights to preserve Elfdalian, a dy... by joe_the_user on Friday July 09, 2021 @08:22PM (#27789940)
Preserving an old language is great. Preserving it by having young people who's first language is this obscure language probably is doing a disservice to those young people and the older people probably knew that.
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Re:A small town in Sweden fights to preserve Elfdalian, a dy... by redisman on Friday July 09, 2021 @08:24PM (#27789959)
Kids can learn two first languages just fine
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Re:A small town in Sweden fights to preserve Elfdalian, a dy... by joe_the_user on Friday July 09, 2021 @08:42PM (#27790078)
Some kids can. Some kids definitely learn only one language really well and struggle with a second indefinitely.

I'm sure there's some cut-off and a way to do it right and so-forth. But are the surviving native speak of an obscure language in some rural village going to suss that out.

Plus a lot of kids who a language just when they're young go to forget. I remember, growing up, a friend who could understand but not speak Urdu. He wasn't going to perpetuate the language.

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