As an Indian, or somebody who was born and raised in India, do you consider English your first language? Alternatively, do you have two first languages?

作为一个印度人，或在印度出生和长大的人，你认为英语是你的第一语言吗？或者说你有两种第一语言？

以下是Quora网友的评论：

Prottay M. Adhikari

No !

English is my second language. It will always be.

Bengali is the language I speak in, I think in, I argue in, I love in, I fight in, I negotiate in. It is my first and only first language.

Granted, I do all those things in English too; but not as good as I do them in Bengali. Even in research, inside my mind the thougt process is always Bengali (except the technical terms).

不！

英语是我的第二语言。永远都只会是第二语言。

孟加拉语是我日常使用的语言，我用孟加拉语思考，我用孟加拉语争论，我用孟加拉语谈情说爱，我用孟加拉语吵架，我用孟加拉语谈判。这是我的第一语言，也是唯一的第一语言。

当然，我也可以用英语做这些事情；但不如我用孟加拉语时发挥得好。就连做研究的时候，我也总是用孟加拉语来思考(除了专业术语)。

My English is okay, because,

We studied English (as a second language)in school for 12 years straight.

In college, the medium of written communication was almost completely English.

I’ve been exposed to many Indian friends who do not share the same first language with me. (i.e. people from other states who do not speak Bengali). To communicate with them, English was the most efficient option.

I’ve been living in a English-speaking country for last 2 years.

我的英语还不错，因为，

我们在学校里连续学了12年英语(作为第二语言)。

我们在大学里几乎完全用英语进行书面交流。

我接触过许多印度朋友，他们的第一语言和我不一样(他们来自其他邦，不讲孟加拉语)。想和他们交流，英语是最好的选择。

我还在一个英语国家生活过两年。

But, none of these reasons are strong enough to dethrone Bengali from that ‘first language’ spot.

但是，这些理由都难以撼动孟加拉语的“第一语言”地位。

Apurva Sinha

My knee-jerk reaction to the question is, yes, it is. Many kids including me mention English as the first language because the board curriculum was designed so and the school required us to.

But… wait, so why do I cite Hindi as my mother tongue? Well, because it is. Academically it's my second language and Bengali is the third.

我对这个问题的本能反应是，是的，是这样。包括我在内的很多孩子，都把英语当做第一语言，因为学校的课程就是这样设计的，学校也要求我们这样说英语。

但是，等等，为什么我说印地语是我的母语？呃，因为这是事实。在学术上，印地语是我的第二语言，孟加拉语是第三语言。

I am equally fluent in all the three, depending on the meaning of fluency for the deciding party. Speaking for myself, in that regard, I wouldn’t call myself fluent in any of the three. I am often at crossroads while writing or speaking it. More so while speaking because it a spontaneous task. Writing is not much of an issue, because I get the time to assimilate my thoughts and put it on paper. Yet, I make errors in it. Tsk-tsk. However, over time, I have gotten better at speaking it. I read and write in Hindi faster than I do in Bengali.

这三种语言，我都同样流利。就我个人而言，我不敢说自己精通这三种语言中的任何一种。我对英语的写作和口语都不是太有把握。尤其是说话的时候，因为这是自然而然的任务。写作不是什么大问题，因为我有时间把想法落实并写在纸上。但我也会犯错。不过随着时间的推移，我的口语越来越好了。我用印地语阅读和写作，速度要比用孟加拉语更快。

Kunwar Bir Singh

I was born in Haryana & then moved to New Delhi, where is spent most of my childhood and early adulthood in Punjabi dominated parts of West Delhi..

We spoke Punjabi at home, but Hindi was the lingua franca in the neighborhood and schools. I studied 3 languages in school Hindi, Punjabi & English.

Now In Singapore, we use Hinglish at home or talking to friends. I use Singlish & English at work.

So I am very confused on what is my predominant language.

我出生在哈里亚纳邦，后来搬到新德里，在以旁遮普语为主要语言的西德里地区度过了我的童年和青年时期的大部分时间。

我们在家说旁遮普语，但在社区和学校里大家都说印地语。我在学校会学习三种语言：印地语，旁遮普语和英语。

现在我住在新加坡，我们跟家人和朋友交谈时会使用印度式英语。我在工作中使用新加坡英语和英语。

所以如果问我什么是我的优势语言？我也说不上。

I consider Punjabi as my mother tongue, so technically that should be my first language.

I am quite comfortable in Hindi but like all true Indians, what we speak is Hinglish. We use so many words of english in our day to day language that we should officially include these words as part of official Hindi Language.

English is the first language at work. However, in the line of work I am usually speaking Singlish most of the time, intersperesed with periods when I can show off my rudimentary knowledge of Mandarin & Bahasa Malayu.

我觉得旁遮普语是我的母语，所以严格来说旁遮普语应该是我的第一语言。

我说印地语时非常自在，但我跟其他印度人一样，都会说印度式英语。我们在日常生活中使用很多英语单词，我们应该把这些单词正式纳入官方印地语。

英语是我在工作时会使用的第一语言。但在工作中，我大部分时间会使用新加坡式英语，偶尔还能秀一点点普通话和马来语。

So if the first language is defined as what is used predominantly, or alternatively the language I am most comfortable with, then it should be Hinglish for vocal communication & English for written communications including texting, social media, whatsapp & quora. it may be related to the fact that I hardly use pen and paper for writing these days.

May be we should suggest Quora in Hinglish rather than just Hindi, I am damn sure it will be more active than in its present state of affairs.

所以，如果把第一语言定义为主要使用的语言，或者最熟悉的语言，那么就应该是我口头交流时常用的印度式英语和用于书面交流的英语，包括短信、社交媒体、whatsapp和quora等。这可能和我现在很少用纸笔写字有关。

也许我们可以建议Quora用印度式英语来取代印度语，用户肯定会比现在更活跃。

Charan Koralagundi Basavaraj

Do you consider English your first language?

Yes. English has always been the medium of instruction to know all those little things that have made sense to me as an individual.

你把英语当做第一语言吗？

是的。英语一直是我们的教学语言，让我学会对我个人来说很有意义的所有小事。

Alternatively, do you have two first languages?

No. I can speak Kannada but I have not read Kannada to such an extent that I can engage in its literature deeply all the time.

你会有两种第一语言吗？

不。我会说坎纳达语，但我还没有达到可以深入研究坎纳达语文学作品的程度。

Abhishek

Most Indians learn all subjects except language subjects in English. So, during our schooling, sooner or later, English becomes an additional first language. Good or Bad, Indians do consider fluency in English and a proper accent, a necessity. Result of this is a hidden discrimination against people who can't speak English well in interviews or group discussions in recruitment or in other walks of life. English has become an essential part of the Indian culture, more so, in more educated Indians. Talking about me, yes, I have deep affection towards both Hindi and English, so both languages can be considered to be first for me.

除了语言类课程，大多数印度人学习所有科目都是用英语来进行的。所以，我们上学后都会把英语当做又一门第一语言。不管是好是坏，印度人确实认为流利的英语和良好的口音是必要能力。由此带来了一个结果，人们会歧视那些在面试或招聘时的小组讨论中或各行各业中英语能力不够优秀的人。英语已经成为印度文化的重要组成部分，在受过良好教育的印度人群体中更是如此。至于我，没错，我对印地语和英语都有很深的感情，所以这两种语言都可以算是我的第一语言。

Mahesh Jethalia

I used to consider Hindi to be my first language and English to be my 2nd before class 8. After class 8, these 2 switched position.

I went to an ICSE school in which we were taught Shakespeare’s plays ( As you Like It in my case ). Before that, it was pretty much state board curriculum with high standards of Hindi and not so high standards for English. Most of my friends spoke Hindi in everyday life.

在初二之前，我把印地语作为第一语言，把英语作为第二语言。初二之后，这两种语言的地位就互换了。

我在一所ICSE学校上学，我们在学校学习莎士比亚戏剧(我学习的是《皆大欢喜》)。在那之前，学校里教授的基本上都是邦委员会制定的课程，印地语要求很高，英语要求不高。我的多数朋友在日常生活中都会说印地语。

In class 8, I scored disastrously in one term in my English language and literature sections. This made my mom mad, and she decided to put me on a faster track to learn English. I spent real good time solving problems from Wren and Martin, thinking about tenses and the correct word that must be used. I even joined English tuition and tried to solve all the problems/sentences, write letters and essays. Our school even made us watch a few movies : The Godfather part 1, The Roman Holiday,Sound of Music, Schindler’s List, Guns of Navarone etc.

初二的时候，我有一个学期英语语言和文学这门课考得很烂。我妈妈很生气，她决定让我突击一下英语。我花了很多时间解决雷恩和马丁的问题，思考时态，遣词造句。我甚至参加了英语辅导班，努力解决所有的问题/造句、写信、写文章。我们学校甚至让我们看了几部电影:《教父1》、《罗马假日》、《音乐之声》、《辛德勒的名单》、《纳瓦隆枪炮》等。

William Shakespeare was a funny man with the exclusive rights to create words in English. Words created by me ended up in Hinglish.

Due to all this, my mind somehow made a switch with my first language now being effectively English (That too only the Queen’s English spoken in UK by well off people decades ago I was born).

When I went to CBSE school in class 11, their English was very easy compared to ICSE. These people had Hound of Baskervilles and were never told to analyze The Twelfth Night or Henry V. I didn’t take Hindi in my high school so was kinda done with it. In sciences, most recent things published are in English anyway.

威廉·莎士比亚是一个有趣的人，他是唯一可以造词的人。我自己造的词只能是印度式英语。

这些经历导致我的第一语言已经变成了英语(特指几十年前英国富人所说的那种女王式英语)。

等我高一的时候去CBSE学校上学，我发现学校教授的英语比ICSE简单很多。这些人会读《巴斯克维尔的猎犬》，没人告诉他们要精读《第十二夜》或《亨利五世》。我在高中时没有学习印地语，所以对印度语也没什么研究了。在科学领域，如今发表的大多数文章都是用英文发表的。

Peter Lane

I don't have two first languages, People who do usually have parents from two different countries and if living abroad,then they would be fluent in three languages.

A lot of Swedish people are fluent in three languages also English is taught in schools to a very high level.

我没有两种第一语言。通常来说，父母来自不同国家的人会有两种第一语言，如果他们生活在国外，那么他们能流利地使用三门语言。

很多瑞典人都能流利地说三门语言，学校也会教授英语，学习标准很高。

I’m British so its my native tongue but I can manage in French and German and at present I am studying Japanese.

If you really want to learn different languages you need to live and work in that country for some time otherwise the accent/dialect is wrong.

If your wealthy, it depends on your education, If you went to one of the higher UK universities and studied languages you could be bi-lingual .

我是英国人，所以英语就是我的母语，但我的法语和德语也还行，现在我还在学习日语。

如果你真的想学习不同的语言，你必须去那个国家生活工作一段时间，否则口音就有问题。

如果你有钱，这取决于你所受的教育。如果你在英国大学学习语言，你就可以说两种语言。

Gopalakrishnan Ramamurthy

Tamil (my native tongue), Hindi and English are all equally my first languages. I would say I am as proficient in English as any native speaker.

English, for the vast majority in India, only really comes into the picture when you start going to school. The first language I learnt was my mother tongue, Tamil. I learnt Hindi as well because it’s spoken everywhere in the city where I spent my early childhood (Mumbai). I didn’t know a word of English until kindergarten.

泰米尔语(我的母语)、印地语和英语都是我的第一语言。我认为我和其他英语母语者一样精通英语。

对于绝大多数印度人来说，开始上学的时候才会真的开始学习英语。我学习的第一门语言是我的母语泰米尔语。我也学习了印地语，因为在我很小的时候在孟买生活过，大家都说印地语。直到幼儿园我接触到第一个英语单词。

What is weird is that though all the three are equally my first languages, I associate each with different things. In my home, around family, I speak most comfortably in Tamil. It takes me more effort to speak in Hindi or English, perhaps because I associate home with my mother tongue.

奇怪的是，虽然这三种语言都是我的第一语言，但我会分情况使用。我和家人在一起时，最喜欢用泰米尔语，说印地语或英语时会有点别扭，也许是因为我把家和母语联系在一起了。

With friends, who are all from different parts of India and use Hindi as the lingua franca, I’m most comfortable in Hindi, and Tamil if they speak it. Speaking English to them would feel, well, off. And since English is the medium of education in India, using Tamil or Hindi for scientific terminologies and whatnot would be weird. It’s like in different circumstances my brain is wired into different languages, and using a different language than is wired for a particular circumstance requires more effort. I can’t explain any better.

和朋友们在一起，因为他们都来自不同地区，我们就用印地语作为通用语，我和朋友用印地语和泰米尔语（如果朋友说泰米尔语的话）交流最自在。跟朋友说英语总让我感觉不自在。因为英语是印度学校的教学语言，如果使用泰米尔语或印地语来讨论科学术语和其他东西，就会很奇怪。所以针对不同的情况，我的大脑会切换到不同的语言，如果一定要换用其他语言就有点困难。这个问题很难解释清楚。

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