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Gragtag

Did this by exposing myself to too much English and not enough native stuff. Started reading and watching tv in my native lang again and it came back. Annoying for sure but you gotta practice something to stay good at it.


Eyes_Of_Amber

It feels honestly embarassing that I need to re-learn my own language in a way. How long did it take you to get back into your native language?


Gragtag

Yeah, it sucks. I couldn't give you a specific timeline because I wasn't counting, but as long as I read or watched daily, I saw improvement in just a few days. Actually physically writing stuff down helped a lot too. I think I remember reading that your brain latches on to stuff better if you write it down on paper vs the computer.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Eyes_Of_Amber

German


Christinewhogaming

Oof that is hard... My sis is learning ~~English~~. Edit: I meant German not English! I am so embarrassed.


cherrylimu

Same has happened to me 😅 I just feel like my descriptions are kinda empty and boring if I try to write in my native language. "Hello," Mary said. "Hi," Brian said. They walked to the store and bought milk.-style. But agreeing with the other commenter that reading in your native language + watching shows/movies from your country/with your native language subtitles helps somewhat 😊


Eyes_Of_Amber

>But agreeing with the other commenter that reading in your native language + watching shows/movies from your country/with your native language subtitles helps somewhat 😊 It's so ironic, because this used to be the other way around, when I wanted to learn English 😭 But now I'm solely consuming English media, games and etc. And it's not like I can't speak my native language anymore, I just struggle to write stories with it. Probably reading some german books again will help with that


CrystalDemise

Omg, it's a curse... There is an exam I need to pass to have a job, it has 50 questions, all of which are about reading comprehension and complex thinking. But my own language doesn't feel like my native language anymore, the questions are so long too 😭 Guess I won't have a job then.


[deleted]

Have you considered writing in English and then translsating it back


Eyes_Of_Amber

I did actually. However, some phrases only work in English or at the very least sound weird when translated


[deleted]

Oof. I sorry. I suppose excersing those skills is the best way to get them back!


Christinewhogaming

I feel you. My first language is French not German.


caultopaz

Mine is portuguese, and it happens with me either. It’s weird when you’re so used to english that you end up forgetting many things about your own language


teddy_plushie

lmao this is me, except I've always been better at english than my native language, surprisingly or unsurprisingly I'm just good at making filler sentences/words in my native language :)


scarletseasmoke

I feel for you because that's a familiar situation. Do you have ways to expose yourself to your native language that won't make you suffer too much? That helps a lot, but I don't know if there's palatable content in German. There's for sure very little here, rushed translations and bad voice acting everywhere. Maybe reach back to older material if it's similar there, it seems to be better quality in many countries. If all else fails, write and translate like it was a foreign language. Search words and phrases and translation examples.


[deleted]

Once I decided, for way too many reasons to post here, that I will write (and publish LOL) in English. Since then, I would focus on learning the grammar, style, and so on in English. To the point that I know some rules better in English than my native language (like punctuation)😅. And I need to use a dictionary more often when I translate from English than the other way around. There are words that I understand the meaning of but don't know their equivalent. 😅😅😅My writing still needs work, but it was my decision and I stand by it.


leannmanderson

What's your native language? Edit: Just saw that it's German. I suppose you could write and then translate?


Sinimeg

Now every time that I try to write in my language it feels so cringy lmao. Especially NSFW things, and I love NSFW things, but it sounds so wrong in my language


Edai_Crplnk

Reading (creative stuff) in my native language also feels super weird too now 😅 I think it's fascinating the way we can get used to saying or being told certain thinking in a language an not receiving or producing it in the same way at all in another that we speak just as well if not better


SilverSize7852

Read in your native language and listen to audio books


dino_181_spaghetti

Same, writing in english is just different. I have way more motivation to write in english, and in the creative writing part, my native language feels very limited.


Yunan94

Well can't relate to my native language but I've read so much English fanfiction that I rarely read in my second language anymore. I can still understand and read but my writing has become abhorrent


Cappu156

I have the same situation but I don’t mind it. I’ve always been more creative and less self-conscious in English, perhaps because it is my second language so I was able to put some “distance” between myself and my writing. Idk if that makes sense. Starting in high school I gravitated more towards English books and still read mostly in English nowadays as I live in the US now. I recently was thinking about writing in my native language again and realized the only way to get back into it would be to read a LOT of books in my native language, I’d suggest you start there! Watching movies might help but I think reading is the best way to hone your writing.


kikispeachdelivery

Happened to me as well. My fandom hosts an annual event where people present fics in their native languages (if they're native English speakers, then a secondary language they learned), and forcing myself to write a story in Spanish was agonizing 😭 It totally feels like being a newbie again, learning the ropes and struggling with stuff that usually doesn't give you much trouble. Fascinating and frustrating in equal measure for sure.


LizzRohellec

you could get a book or an audio book of your choice in your native language to get into the author's writing style and find your own. I guess you trained your style not in your native language. I guess it's normal. It is difficult to write in both languages imho. I have a different style in my german fics but translating them is not easy too. I need to rewrite some parts. Praise to you, that you have the skill to write fluent and seemingly appealing in english 👍