How interesting that they are so particular with grammar structure and use! It's ironic that in the more international (and one would perhaps assume more educated) Majuro, there is less exactness with their native language than in Ebeye. Or perhaps flexibility is actually a result of being slightly more international (though not necessarily more educated).
Improvement and development of a first and second language definitely makes other language acquisition so much more doable! It's like math - you build a foundation and you can progress from there ... but only after the foundation has been solidified. And the more sure that foundation the more you can add on top! I also feel that the study of more than two languages, especially of different grammar structures, really helps acquisition of them all and even more. This seems counter-intuitive because you might think there's only so much room in the brain, but now that I've been studying Korean a little, my French and (heaven knows how) my Russian are surfacing in weird ways. Language and the brain are so fascinating and bizarre and truly unpredictable.
Now as for those who claim they're supposedly "fluent" in 50+ languages, I wonder if they're quacks or if they follow the pattern of my last theory...
PS - I'll comment soon on my profile pick. If it's still the right fit... ;)
I call it my second language folder. It takes a couple days to shift the Spanish back behind the Marshallese, or Spanish in front of the Marshallese.
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