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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Never witness it till today, it was mind boggling.
A mom speaks to her daughter in French (oolalaa), but then replied in English.
I'd like my lad to be as well, but it's a little different. It's just not possible, for now.
To all multilingual households, how have you been teaching your children your mother tongue? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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In high school I had a really good friend who was born to Chinese parents in brooklyn who couldn't afford to take care of her (she was the last of five kids). So they sent her to live with her Chinese grandfather in harlem who was married to a Cuban woman. Her parents only spoke Chinese. Her grandmother who she grew up with only spoke Spanish.
Growing up with her Spanish speaking grandmother, Spanish was he first language. English was her second. Whenever she went home to visit her parents in high school she couldn't talk to them because they only spoke Chinese. So she would have to speak with her siblings being translators (her siblings' first language being Chinese, with English as their second language).
I grew up speaking English. It was simpler.  |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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English is my language but I also speak a smattering of Spanish and French, but my son speaks English and learns Welsh at school...if he wants to wind me up (which is often) he asks me questions in Welsh as he knows I haven't a clue what he is saying  |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"In high school I had a really good friend who was born to Chinese parents in brooklyn who couldn't afford to take care of her (she was the last of five kids). So they sent her to live with her Chinese grandfather in harlem who was married to a Cuban woman. Her parents only spoke Chinese. Her grandmother who she grew up with only spoke Spanish.
Growing up with her Spanish speaking grandmother, Spanish was he first language. English was her second. Whenever she went home to visit her parents in high school she couldn't talk to them because they only spoke Chinese. So she would have to speak with her siblings being translators (her siblings' first language being Chinese, with English as their second language).
I grew up speaking English. It was simpler. "
Must be frustrating at time for her not having a common tongue with her parents.
Are you both mutilingual? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Speak to them in that language.
Emphasise certain words - the descriptives usually.
Once they begin to know those then add others.
They learn bloody fast when they have no choice  |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Speak to them in that language.
Emphasise certain words - the descriptives usually.
Once they begin to know those then add others.
They learn bloody fast when they have no choice "
Obv! 
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"English is my language but I also speak a smattering of Spanish and French, but my son speaks English and learns Welsh at school...if he wants to wind me up (which is often) he asks me questions in Welsh as he knows I haven't a clue what he is saying "
Cheeky one isn't he?
Is everything taught in Welsh? |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Speak to them in that language.
Emphasise certain words - the descriptives usually.
Once they begin to know those then add others.
They learn bloody fast when they have no choice
Obv!
"
Seriously, children can pick up quick. Especially when there's regular exposure to the second language.
It seems children and adults learn language slightly differently. We memorise it and translate it before speaking. Whereas they seems to just listen copy paste.. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"In high school I had a really good friend who was born to Chinese parents in brooklyn who couldn't afford to take care of her (she was the last of five kids). So they sent her to live with her Chinese grandfather in harlem who was married to a Cuban woman. Her parents only spoke Chinese. Her grandmother who she grew up with only spoke Spanish.
Growing up with her Spanish speaking grandmother, Spanish was he first language. English was her second. Whenever she went home to visit her parents in high school she couldn't talk to them because they only spoke Chinese. So she would have to speak with her siblings being translators (her siblings' first language being Chinese, with English as their second language).
I grew up speaking English. It was simpler.
Must be frustrating at time for her not having a common tongue with her parents.
Are you both mutilingual?"
No no no. I only speak English. Marc speaks 5 languages, though. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"In high school I had a really good friend who was born to Chinese parents in brooklyn who couldn't afford to take care of her (she was the last of five kids). So they sent her to live with her Chinese grandfather in harlem who was married to a Cuban woman. Her parents only spoke Chinese. Her grandmother who she grew up with only spoke Spanish.
Growing up with her Spanish speaking grandmother, Spanish was he first language. English was her second. Whenever she went home to visit her parents in high school she couldn't talk to them because they only spoke Chinese. So she would have to speak with her siblings being translators (her siblings' first language being Chinese, with English as their second language).
I grew up speaking English. It was simpler.
Must be frustrating at time for her not having a common tongue with her parents.
Are you both mutilingual?
No no no. I only speak English. Marc speaks 5 languages, though. "
Which ones? All equally fluent? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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My children will only speak/reply to me in English..however when we go and see my family they will happily speak the language.. But interestingly still speak English to me... I guess it is a question of environment. |
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I'm staying in a multilingual house at the moment. They switch languages part way through sentences quite a lot. I've learned a few words. I can confidently walk into a room and say "hello everyone. Bath. Clock." |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"In high school I had a really good friend who was born to Chinese parents in brooklyn who couldn't afford to take care of her (she was the last of five kids). So they sent her to live with her Chinese grandfather in harlem who was married to a Cuban woman. Her parents only spoke Chinese. Her grandmother who she grew up with only spoke Spanish.
Growing up with her Spanish speaking grandmother, Spanish was he first language. English was her second. Whenever she went home to visit her parents in high school she couldn't talk to them because they only spoke Chinese. So she would have to speak with her siblings being translators (her siblings' first language being Chinese, with English as their second language).
I grew up speaking English. It was simpler.
Must be frustrating at time for her not having a common tongue with her parents.
Are you both mutilingual?
No no no. I only speak English. Marc speaks 5 languages, though.
Which ones? All equally fluent?"
English, French, and Russian fluently. Spanish good enough for everything except business. Italian socially. I'm so jealous. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"My children will only speak/reply to me in English..however when we go and see my family they will happily speak the language.. But interestingly still speak English to me... I guess it is a question of environment."
Very interesting, I can see that's what the mom was doing with her daughter. Speak French as much as possible.
Was just very new experience seeing it.
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I'm staying in a multilingual house at the moment. They switch languages part way through sentences quite a lot. I've learned a few words. I can confidently walk into a room and say "hello everyone. Bath. Clock." "
I read that so wrong
Is it a language you'd like to learn? |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"In high school I had a really good friend who was born to Chinese parents in brooklyn who couldn't afford to take care of her (she was the last of five kids). So they sent her to live with her Chinese grandfather in harlem who was married to a Cuban woman. Her parents only spoke Chinese. Her grandmother who she grew up with only spoke Spanish.
Growing up with her Spanish speaking grandmother, Spanish was he first language. English was her second. Whenever she went home to visit her parents in high school she couldn't talk to them because they only spoke Chinese. So she would have to speak with her siblings being translators (her siblings' first language being Chinese, with English as their second language).
I grew up speaking English. It was simpler.
Must be frustrating at time for her not having a common tongue with her parents.
Are you both mutilingual?
No no no. I only speak English. Marc speaks 5 languages, though.
Which ones? All equally fluent?
English, French, and Russian fluently. Spanish good enough for everything except business. Italian socially. I'm so jealous. "
His last name isn't Powers by chance? First name Austin? |
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"I'm staying in a multilingual house at the moment. They switch languages part way through sentences quite a lot. I've learned a few words. I can confidently walk into a room and say "hello everyone. Bath. Clock."
I read that so wrong
Is it a language you'd like to learn?"
Sorta. They don't speak in a way that's easy to learn, I can't distinguish between words... but I do pick up a few words and ask what they mean and learn them that way.
It's easy enough to get the gist of a conversation most of the time but it'll be tricky to learn now. Especially as my memory is like a tablespoon with a teaspoon sized hole in it |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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My friend moved to germany 20 years ago met a woman had kids blah blah,she spoke to them in german he spoke to them in english,they speak both as if was both their mother tongue,and with beautiful lancashire accent |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I'm staying in a multilingual house at the moment. They switch languages part way through sentences quite a lot. I've learned a few words. I can confidently walk into a room and say "hello everyone. Bath. Clock."
I read that so wrong
Is it a language you'd like to learn?
Sorta. They don't speak in a way that's easy to learn, I can't distinguish between words... but I do pick up a few words and ask what they mean and learn them that way.
It's easy enough to get the gist of a conversation most of the time but it'll be tricky to learn now. Especially as my memory is like a tablespoon with a teaspoon sized hole in it "
New language always sound fast, tell me to slow it down, bring it back a notch.
We all learn differently, sounds obv but it is down to usage. The one hour a week of French at school barely gave me any confidence in speaking, for we were mostly misbehaving during class.
They speaking Dothraki? |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"My friend moved to germany 20 years ago met a woman had kids blah blah,she spoke to them in german he spoke to them in english,they speak both as if was both their mother tongue,and with beautiful lancashire accent"
That's great. The children are becoming bilingual.
Wonder of their German sounds Lancs .. |
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