ELI5 Amnesia - why don’t people forget their primary language?

How realistic are the Hollywood movie portrayals of amnesia compared to real-life amnesia? Why is it that when people get amnesia, they don't forget everything? Why do people with amnesia not forget their primary language for example? What’s the difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia? Is there anything that can be done to treat or manage amnesia? Is it possible to ‘fake’ amnesia? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: favoritecolorsreddit, jowwill, stuartgotz, dildingo, rosemourne, cerberus73, wzup, untenabell, faelyn42 and omegaprimus To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Send us an e-mail: [email protected]