Speaking 'properly' or not

[Karen Barker]

Mary Anne wrote:
> identify.  Also, coming from the southeast Netherlands my 
> gutteral "g" is very gentle compared to Dutch northerners.
> 
I lived in Den Helder (so my 'g' must be horrendous!) for 2 years as a 
young child and my Dad, who is really good at languages and I were 
totally fluent, whereas my Mum could just about get by.  One of the 
neighbours apparently pointed me out to a lady who happened to be 
friendly with my Mum and said "See that little girl, she's got an 
English mother" to which the lady replied "Yes and an English father.  
She's English too".  The neighbour would not believe her apparently!  
We were only back in the UK for about 3 months and my best friend Karin 
rang me and I could no longer understand what she was saying to me.  
It's amazing how quickly you can both learn and then forget a language 
at a young age.  

Karen