Multilingual

Right now I feel that my brain is like a hard drive. It has been partitioned into two parts: one partition with what is the English language and the second with what is 'the other'. Until recently, 'the other' had been Spanish. When studying the Spanish language, I learned new grammar concepts, rules and vocabulary as if they were simply what was not native to me. For example, when speaking Spanish and thinking of the word for 'basketball', initшally my mind might think of the word in my native tongue and since this was not what is was looking for, it would revert to what is 'the other' and choose 'el baloncesto' instead. Previously, this was not an issue, but since I've started learning Russian, this system has not been functioning as well. It is no longer an option for my mind to alternate between two languages, for it now has a second foreign language option to contend with. To continue with the hard drive analogy: what I've noticed is that my mind will seemingly overwrite the words I've previously learned in Spanish with the equivalent in Russian. Of course this is not the case. My Spanish listening and comprehension skills are as good as they ever were. After memorizing a new word in Russian, it's Spanish equivalent becomes more difficult to recall. When I wish to speak in Spanish, my mind has difficulties switching from Russian to Spanish and back again with ease. A former Russian professor of mine has described this phenomenon as Russian eating other languages. She had previously studied French and Spanish. After an intensive study of Russian, the language burrows deep into the mind and consumes what other languages that may reside there. I'm going to everything in my power to keep that from happening!

I believe I've determined the solution to this quagmire. As I've stated previously, it's like my mind has been partitioned into two parts. What I need to do is create a third partition. I need to focus on dividing what is 'the other' or foreign in my mind into two parts. While I wish that this was as easy as partitioning a hard drive and then loading my data on to it, it is not that simple. My solution is to forget English altogether, for the time being. I will focus on going back and forth between Russian and Spanish in my mind until it is as fluid as the change from Russian to English and back. I've purchased a Russian-Spanish categorical dictionary to help me accomplish this. Thus far, this method has been a success. I'm learning new Russian words based upon my understanding of the Spanish equivalent. I'm even learning some new Spanish words that I only previously knew in Russian! I only hope that during this partitioning process, my hard drive doesn't crash! We'll see how it goes. Until then, до свидания and hasta luego!

A side note - when listening to Russian radio, it's always exciting to hear a Spanish song. They are played here frequently. I don't always immediately notice that the music is not Russian! I'm excited for the day to come when my Russian is as good as or even better than my Spanish! In any case, I know that both languages will continue to be an important part of my life for many years to come!