A few days ago I crossed the threshold of my native school. A group of children, maybe 3-4 grades were playing on the small playground under the watchful eye of the teacher. They had split into small groups, the boys naturally kicking a ball. I slowed to watch the cuties but didn't stop to avoid attracting attention. They screamed, ran, complained to the lady who didn't play fair... all normal things that brought me back to my childhood. I was already passing when I saw with my periphery that the kicked ball did not hit the goal. The goalie – a cute pooch started laughing and pointing at his friend (of course we all did) and yelled “Luuuuuuurrr”…………..

For those who don't know English, this is a pure sample of a native Bulgarian's loser. A word that most of us have used both as children and as adults. I'm itching to stop and ask the child why he uses someone else's word when we have our own (not to argue, just to ask, jokingly so). I didn't for two reasons. The first was that they were waiting for me. The second... I know, today both children and parents have become so sensitive, the child will complain that an unknown aunt talks to him, that she also makes a remark to him... However, if it were not for the first reason, I would ignore the second.

I don't know how many people realize the scale of the problem arising from this otherwise simple epithet. These were ten-year-old children learning elementary English. But who probably spend a lot of time playing video games, where certain words and expressions are drilled into their brains.

It's not bad. It is precisely games that help a lot in the easier and faster acquisition of a foreign language, especially in the pre-puberty age. There is a critical period in a person's life for language acquisition. This period is connected with the intellectual development of the individual and with his socialization. When this period passes, the language cannot be fully mastered.

According to the hypothesis discussed in detail by Tom Scovel in his book Time to Talk (Scovel, 1988), the critical period for second language acquisition is the time of puberty, around the age of 12. Successful mastery of a language is considered mastery of an "authentic accent." After this period it is impossible.

Brain research shows the link between human neurological and language development. At the beginning of puberty, the two hemispheres acquire different functions: the left "directs" to intellectual and analytical processes, reasoning, logic, while the right is "responsible" for emotions, insight and imagination. Usually the left dominates, which is manifested by the effect of right-handedness, and in the lateralization of the brain, i.e. when it "splits", language functions are controlled by the left.

Today's children are literally inundated with English and therefore learn it much easier and faster than German or Italian, for example. Knowledge of a foreign language, no matter what, is an irreplaceable asset. Every foreign language reveals a new world; studying it, one touches the culture and history of the people. Knowledge of a foreign language enables better communication. And the learning process itself develops certain skills of memory, language in general and requires the memorization of a huge amount of information. In this way, the brain is constantly developing. People who know two or three foreign languages can boast a relatively good memory.

And again we come to the question: where is the problem? Why is a loser a problem and a loser is not? The answer, I think, lies in that cry of Paisius: "... why are you ashamed to call yourself Bulgarian"?

Language is not a static thing. It is constantly evolving. Grammatically much slower, lexically – sometimes with cosmic speed. And there's nothing wrong with that. As long as one does not cross that thin line, after which language begins to change and depersonalize at the expense of another. There are two types of foreign words introduced from other languages. One is definitely needed, they are the so-called loans. When a new concept or phenomenon arises and there is no name for it in language A, it is normal for the concept from language B to enter it. This is a natural process from which language A is enriched and developed. On the other hand, foreign words are those foreign words for which we already have words in the language. For example, workshop instead of workshop, handmade - handmade, alternative - opportunity, like instead of like, etc.

This substitution has been proven to depersonalize language. And at some point he will no longer be the same, at least not lexically. Which is a crime - to our ancestors, to us and to our children. It is humiliating to be one of the handful of peoples in the world who write in their own alphabet and to kill our language with such zeal.

I say again - knowing foreign languages is useful in many ways (I speak 3 myself). In addition, there is also the process of globalization, as I have already mentioned, the English language has long established itself as the main global means of communication. However, knowing languages and globalization is not a reason to kill your native language. Then why is it happening with such speed in the last 15-20 years!?

Personal opinion - the reason lies in one of our, Bulgarian, ugly traits - foreign worship and at the same time the denial of everything native. This phenomenon is observed by how many Bulgarians there are in this world. This obsession with bowing down to everything foreign and pushing away from our own, be it a language, a new author, a film or the achievement of a scientist. 

In this way of thinking, Bulgaria and the Bulgarian people have long been losers. Yeah, loser. Not a loser. Because slowly and surely we will soon be lost: with the help of demographic collapse and denial.

In this case, however, the children are not to blame. Because they just take an example from adults. Of those for whom it is fashionable and a sign of distorted intelligence to express themselves in foreign languages. With all this I am trying to point out that civilization is a good thing as long as it is not distorted. And that's what we do in our country...