Scholars say infants are born with the capacity to make any sound with their mouths and that ability last up until about the age of puberty. That language acquisition with fluency and no accent ability remains even if the language goes unused for a long period of time and then it starts up again. But as I was experiencing in Guadalarajara in my late twenties, my mouth just did not want to learn something new without putting up a fight. Like allot of people I studied Spanish by constraint in middle school. I can remember because it was an unforgettable embarrassing experience in Mr. Harts eighth grade Spanish class. I remember him putting me on the spot with some questions in Spanish in front of some girls I wanted to impress just after I had started puberty. I felt so embarrassed by the confrontation with him that I quickly dropped the class and never consider taking Spanish again until I got to Gettysburg College. More on that tomorrow.
