>My father's mother came to the states from Norway. Her parents disowned her when she left (probably because she and her boyfriend left together) and she took it out on the language. Norwegian was not allowed to be spoken in her presense or in her home.

My mother left Germany at 7 on the Kindertransport. When she started school in England, the teacher (!) made fun of her because she didn't speak English. She decided on the spot to learn English as fast as she could and to forget German. (And, amazingly, at 77, still tells this story--obviously, it made a deep impression.)

Tamar