Question #1

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 183383


> CJ:

> 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. 

Magpie:
This is a fairly standard thing in fiction, imo. The point isn't that 
Harry can't recognize one language from another, it's that he 
*believes* that he only speaks English. So when he hears something he 
understands, his mind "hears" it as English. Once he learns the 
difference and focuses he always knows which one he's hearing.

The same thing happens in The Dark is Rising where a character is told 
that he's been conversing in another language since he woke up, but 
didn't know it. He later sees a book written in the same language and 
again says, "But it's in English!" only to be told that no, it's in Old 
Speech. He just hasn't learned to recognize it yet. After he's read the 
book he knows the difference and after that can choose which language 
to speak in, and knows which one he's hearing.

Same with Parseltongue. It's only after Harry learns there are two 
languages he understands that he can control it or even recognize it as 
two languages. In both cases the person was "born" with this language 
without ever having heard it, and they both think they only speak one 
language.

-m