Bi- and multi-lingualism (long post)

Language, as we all surely know, can both unite and divide. Growing up in South-Africa, we lived with a similar situation as we have in Canada today. That is, we were obliged to learn a second-language at school, and all labels and cereal packages etc. etc. carried both English and Afrikaans.
Worse, at that time Afrikaans was considered 'the language of the oppressor' and this meant we bore a kind of in-built resistance to it. In my young adult novel (under consideration right now by a publisher, so hold thumbs and stay tuned) set in the year leading up to Nelson Mandela's release, I dealt with this in what I hope is a sympathetic way, seeing as my heroine is herself a young Afrikaans girl.

In addition, I learned French both at school and during three years at university. At school in England, I'd boarded with French girls so had an easy understanding when I heard it spoken. This stood me in good stead when I got a job at the French Institute in London. I was the only one with English as my mother tongue, and believe me, I felt tongue-tied when it came to speaking French. After two months, however, this loosened and I was soon on my way to becoming completely fluent.

Then I decided I needed to learn some German. And I began to wonder... do these crash, total immersion courses work? Could I come into this language in, say, a week? My conclusions was... no. Although I did make a beginning. So I held the question, wondering, how long does it actually take to come into a relationship with a new language. I also asked around a bit. Eventually I came to the totally unscientific conclusion that it takes about five years to feel at ease.

Now for the bad news. Over the years I've lost my fluency in speaking French, although I still understand without much effort. The German too is fading. My conclusion here is that, like any other relationship, a connection with a language has to be on-going and tended. So I've taken to listening to French on the radio. I tell my husband "Three weeks in France would do it for me."

Ah well, we can dream, can't we?