How we learnt our first language
It is good to know that:
■ We all start to learn our native language by imitation of parents, friends and family members
■ Most of us start to develop reading and writing skills once we attend elementary school
■ At secondary school, most of us learn more about grammar, semantics, advanced syntax
■ In principal we never stop to learn our native language. There are
always new words, phrases which we pick up indirectly and use. Today media has an important impact on our languages.
It is good to know that language will change and develop. Language-scientists (linguists) have two points of view on a language:
■ Diachron development: the history of a language with its basics (elements
which never change in a language)
■ Synchron development: the way a language takes up new words, terms, ways to say and write something, the way a language may change, renew, adapt or – this may also happen – even disappears.