Yuka lives in Brazil, but her parents are from Japan. They came to Brazil about 20 years ago and they speak Japanese. They speak Japanese at home. Yuka was born in Brazil, and she speaks Portuguese perfectly. She is fluent in English, too. However, her parents can't speak Portuguese as well as Yuka. She often helps her parents in shops and offices. A person says something in Portuguese, and Yuka translates it into Japanese for her parents.
Yuka says: ‘It's not always easy at home. I often make a mistake and I mix between Japanese and Portuguese. However, with my friends, I only speak in Portuguese or English.’
Jenny was born in Scotland, and her mother tongue is English. She moved to Australia with her family when she was 10 years old. After two weeks in the new country, she started using an Australian accent – she spoke like an Australian. Why was this? It was because the other children in Jenny's new school didn't understand her. They thought that her Scottish accent was strange. So, she changed the way she talks.
Jenny says: ‘I have my own children now, and they also have an Australian accent. However, when we go back to Scotland to visit my family, my old accent returns, and my children can't understand me!’
Kate lives in London. Her mother and father were born in London, too. However, her grandmother is from Russia.
Kate says: ‘I spent a lot of time with her when I was a child. It was great. She spoke with me in English, but with a Russian accent. It's interesting, because my mother doesn't want to speak Russian. She always says it's better to learn English, because it's more useful. Maybe that's true in London, but I love Russian! I love listening to the accent and I learnt a lot of Russian words from my grandmother. I use them all the time. My friends all think it's cool. So, I always say I am half English, half Russian.’