[HPforGrownups] Re: Question #1

[Lee Kaiwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 183381

CJ:
Being multi-lingual myself has never stopped me from recognizing
which language was being spoken at me.

zanooda:
What do you mean by "multi-lingual" ? I personally met a truly
bi-lingual person (meaning that both languages were native to him

CJ:
Hmm ... under *that* definition of "bi-linguaL", then then I'm a 
monolingual bore. But then I *am* American, so whad'ya expect?

I define "multi-lingual" as simply speaking multiple languages, not 
necessarily natively. But then, even under your definition most folk on 
this planet are at least bilingual. The fact you've only met one 
suggests you might be American, too :-)

zanooda:
I remember him saying that, when he is being spoken to in one
of those languages, he doesn't need to pause and think which one is that

CJ:
But I take "pause and think" and "not be aware" as two different things. 
Now I live in Taiwan, where most of the population is at minimum 
natively bilingual in Chinese and Taiwanese, the latter of which I speak 
nary a word (more or less). I often complain to my wife, when visiting 
with her family, that they have a tendency to hopscotch back and forth 
between the two in mid-conversation -- often in mid-sentence! -- leaving 
me suddenly out in the cold. While her initial reaction is usually 
something like, "Do we?", on a moment's reflection she realizes it's true.

But I see Harry's situation as a bit different. In the dueling club 
incident, for example, Harry is not first spoken to in Parseltongue, he 
initiates it. And second, even after Hermione points out to him that he 
wasn't speaking English, his reaction remains one of disbelief. Now I 
suppose he could be forgiven the first time -- after all, he didn't at 
that point even know he could speak the language -- but other incidents 
reinforce the notion. For example, when he's hearing voices in the walls 
in CoS, it never does occur to him that it's not English. Surely even 
your bilingual friend would realize on reflection (as my wife does) 
which language he had been speaking.

Now at this point I realize I may be over-interpreting, and JKR (who may 
or may not be multi-lingual; anyone know?) may only intend what you're 
describing. But I think her intent her is to indicate that there is 
something preternatural about Parseltongue -- something fundamentally 
different than his English abilities. However, that won't do as a WW 
explanation.

OTOH, that boy loved jokes, so maybe he was not serious
about this :-).

Nah, I tend to believe him.

--CJ