I've known this guy for over 15 years and we have worked and socialised together. His son met his Danish partner online and moved to Denmark to be with her. Once he became established he secured a job for his Dad who then moved there 2 years ago.
We lost touch until I bumped into him last weekend. His English was broken and he sounded like a foreigner with only a slight grasp of our language. Initially I was taken aback by it and thought he was definitely putting it on. I felt uncomfortable listening to him and didn't chat with him too long.
He was never strong minded but that shocked me. It isn't as though he's isolated in Denmark with no English speakers, his son lives close by, is his superior at work and they socialise regularly. I don't believe it's possible to lose your native tongue, especially in so short a time.
My family moved to England from Scotland when I was 10. The kids at school had trouble understanding me so I had to temper my accent which was a slow process. When I speak to my family or Scottish friends my accent comes straight back like a switch, nothing intended and I'm totally unaware of it unless my English friends comment on it.
We lost touch until I bumped into him last weekend. His English was broken and he sounded like a foreigner with only a slight grasp of our language. Initially I was taken aback by it and thought he was definitely putting it on. I felt uncomfortable listening to him and didn't chat with him too long.
He was never strong minded but that shocked me. It isn't as though he's isolated in Denmark with no English speakers, his son lives close by, is his superior at work and they socialise regularly. I don't believe it's possible to lose your native tongue, especially in so short a time.
My family moved to England from Scotland when I was 10. The kids at school had trouble understanding me so I had to temper my accent which was a slow process. When I speak to my family or Scottish friends my accent comes straight back like a switch, nothing intended and I'm totally unaware of it unless my English friends comment on it.