Re: [Lingo] 間vs間:Thanks...

[David J Iannucci <jlinux@example.com>]

> On 05/29/2012 01:31 PM, steve wrote: I asked my friend Hiroko about
> this a couple of weeks ago.  She's 87 and has been in the US since
> the 50's.  I was surprised that she didn't know that 間 was also
> pronounced ま.

8-O <- This is me being 唖然とした.

Wow. Doing the arithmetic, it's clear she was already a full-grown
adult, probably high school educated, when she moved to the US. I do
know some people who have so completely "gone native" (in the US) that
they have lost full-native-level ability in their mother tongue (without
ever quite reaching it in English - a sad but fascinating situation!).

One of them is (ex :-)Japanese, and although he has had fairly minimal
contact with Japan over the last 40-some years, still... he certainly
has not forgotten words of such fundamental importance...

Dave