Bilingual children?

[BabyJoy]

Hi, I'm wondering if there are any parents who have raised their children to speak/understand two languages and if so, how did they do it.
My husband is South African (Afrikaans) and I'm Aussie. I don't speak any Afrikaans so I wouldn't be able to teach my children his language, and since it is only ever spoken in Australia by Afrikaaners who have immigrated, I'm wondering if it's even worth teaching them this second language (they would only ever get to "practise" with their father, but in a way this would exclude me from conversations unless I also learnt it). DH only ever speaks it when he's on the phone to his family in SA, so generally our house is English-speaking.

I suppose I might feel differently if the language in question was French or Spanish (in other words, a language that is widely spoken around the world), but Afrikaans is only spoken in that one country (a place that I don't see us visiting in a long, long time - one trip there was enough to scare me senseless). So is it worth it?

If you do choose to teach both languages, how do you manage to show them the difference between the two so they don't get confused?

[Mamaduke]

I was brought up speaking English and Polish and I can't ever remember being confused about either language.
I sometimes say different words in Polish to Jesse and just the other day I called him a 'trumpet bottom' in Polish after he did a 'pop off' and he couldn't stop laughing! He asked what it meant in 'his language' (English) and I told him.
His kinder teacher told me that he was using it in the session the other day and told her what it meant in English, but he was saying it in "Babcia talk" which is grandmother in polish (his great grandmother) - so it just goes to show, they work their little brains around it and he doesn't seem confused he just knows that they're different.

[Baby Girl]

My girls can understand vietnamese (their dad is viet) but DD1 can't really say much. DD2 is not talking yet. It doesn't seem to confuse them and he can change mid-sentence at times (when he remembers)!! I try to get my DP to speak to them in only viet but he forgets as he has been in Australia since he was 2 and is used to speaking english all the time. Both girls will be going to Vietnamese classes once they turn 5, so pretty much when they start school. We want them to learn the language so they can communicate with their older relatives on DP's side in their native tongue (kind of a respect thing).

[reAllytee]

Well im aussie as is my partner but my sister lived in Iceland for 10yrs & has just recently moved back so we have her speak to bubs in Icelandic.
He loves it as it makes him giggle ! :p
Its funny watching his little face when my sister changes over he just looks at her like hrrmrmmzzzz thats different hehe.
Its not a common language at all but i think its great to have them open to other languages early on as they pick it up much easier. Plus this will make it easy for bubs to pick up other Nordic languages when or if he wants to as well as being something different.
We have a few of her friends over there sending me reading books for babies & kids this way he has those also.
I think it would be great for your kids to learn Afrikaans its something different yes but its still part of their heritage. You can learn as you go also its amazing how you will pick it up as needed.
I only know a few words but am about to make a book up which will have words, pictures & pronunciation. This way i learn a little while helping bubs keep it up. Maybe this could be an option for you also.
Kids adapt so i wouldnt worry about them being confused because when they are young they just go with the flow.
Good luck :)

[nemosmum]

Hi,

We are in a similar position to you, DH is Aboriginal so speaks a language called Aboriginal english (half english half Wiradjuri) its a language that he really only speaks with his extended family and at home with us on occassion.

DH is not making a conscious effort to teach O as he is still learning english lol:D but as DH drops words here and there O has already started picking it up.

We know that he will only probably use it when speaking to his dads side of the family but we both feel its a great way for O to feel connected to his heritage and culture (considering he probably wont live a traditional Indigenious lifestyle etc.)

I personally think its great to give children a sense of their personal history etc as it gives them a sense of belonging and a connection to their past.

That said do what feels right for you, you still have plenty of time to decide:D

[Funkychicken]

I had a work colleuge a few years ago who was of german descent. She only ever spoke to her son in german and her husband always spoke to him in English. It seemed to work really well for them and her DH even learnt quite a lot of german also just by listening so if your children and dh are all fluent in both languages you will probably learn quite a lot of afrikaans also.

[rebeccamum]

We're in a similar situation as well. I'm Thai and speaking the language with DD all the time, I only speak to her in English when her daddy's around so he understands what I'm saying. I want her to be able to communicate with my mother who can't speak English. I kind of wonder if it will confuse her too but we'll deal with that when it happens. I plan to speak Thai to her all the time even if she doesnt speak it back to me, I hope she can understand it at least. Having said that, I might end up speaking to her in English in the end if it's all too hard :D

[Rainbowbrite]

My mums friend is Greek & when she watches her grandson, she only ever speaks Greek to him. At home its English all the way. He is now 3 & can understand both English & Greek, and speaks a bit of both too :)

I wish one of us knew another language well enough to teach MJ, but we dont :(

RB

[ThomasMum]

I'm too lazy to type all over again, so here's a quote from my previous post about similar topic...


I speak 3 languages thanks to my grand parent's multicultural backgrounds (British, Dutch and Indonesian). You shouldnt have any problem teaching a much younger kid or baby even because I think up until about 10 years of age, babies or children can learn a second language in the same incredibly efficient way that they learned their first language, and they can learn to speak without accent.

The older they are the harder it is thats for real. This language learning comes less naturally, and it's very hard for most people to get rid of their accents. Keep in mind tho, that this might created some problems if their parents try to talk to them in a language that they are not really fluent in if you know what I mean.

So IMHO, all I can see is positive sides...great future, great job,...so go for it!

Good luck!

:)

[MissSparkle]

My DF is greek and his WHOLE family speak greek. I can understand failry well but can only speak basic words and conversation.

My DS (who just turned 1) says words in greek and in english. ONly basic stuff at the moment. But if I say "Look at the bird" I then say it in greek straight after so he knows its the same thing. It sounds silly but he understands some things.

My DF was brought up in a fully greek speaking family however he refused to speak in greek till he got sent off to greek school and had a home tutor! I think its just coz he is so stubborn! He now sees it as a great advantage!

[zenifa]

I was brought up in a multilingual family - my father is Slovak, my mother is Hungarian and their common language (before they learnt English) was Serbo-Croatian. As a young child I learnt the first three languages at the same time till I was about 3, when I went to kindy and started to learn English. I never confused any of the languages, and was fluent in them all, can't explain why, but even as a young child our brains are amazing. In highschool I found learning German (which I did for 5 years) very easy as I was already multilingual. Even as an adult, I've lived and travelled overseas and picked up bits of other languages along the way - spanish, italian, french, turkish, thai, greek etc.

I think its wonderful to expose children to different languages and culture if you have the opportunity. My 6 mth DD is learning these Eastern European languages from me and her grandparents, my DH can also speak and understand too (he's totally Aussie!!).

I have only seen it as an advantage and have used it in my work too.

[BlessedWithBlue]

My df is Filipino and speaks Tagalog with his family and he is teaching ods.
His family speak Tagalog to my boys too. My yds is too young to speak yet but my ods doesn't seem to get confused. Df will ask him where body parts are in Tagalog and he will point to them and i will ask him in English and he will point to them too.

[Mummabear]

I wish I knew another language so I could teach DS. I used to work with a lady who was french and her young daughter spoke english and french fluently. Listening to that little girl speak in french was the most beautiful thing. I think it would be a wonderful thing to teach them other languages and cultures. They're so impressionable and open to learning, it's the best time in their lives to expose them to positive things.

[Mother Duck]

If you are able to teach your little one two languages, what a privaledge - go for it!

Allyoo - I was flabbergasted to read your post as I was going to say...

...I am trying to learn Icelandic and so to practice myself I speak it to Mickayla. She has no problem understanding me and seems to differentiate the two quite well...

A small world it is! - I would love to get hold of some of those books, any idea where I can get them from?

I am also teaching Mickayla sign language which we love - languages open so many new experiences!

Good luck

[reAllytee]

Allyoo - I was flabbergasted to read your post as I was going to say...

...I am trying to learn Icelandic and so to practice myself I speak it to Mickayla. She has no problem understanding me and seems to differentiate the two quite well...

A small world it is! - I would love to get hold of some of those books, any idea where I can get them from?

If you want when my sister speaks with her friends next i can organise pricing etc & let you know otherwise i shall scout around for you as im sure there has to be something out there. My main thing is to get my bubs a book my sisters friend got for my nephew a few years ago as it tells a story all about their folk stories etc.
Icelandic is a very hard language with there being many words that come in male female & it forms which can sometimes be hard to wrap your head around so i figure its best to teach him as young as possible this way it will be easier for him.
Its a very small world :D

[Mother Duck]

That will be wonderful Allyoo - I have pm'd you

[BabyJoy]

Thanks for everyone's input on this topic... it has opened my eyes a lot more to how amazing children are in their ability to learn! :)

I've talked to DH about it and we agreed that he should speak to our children in Afrikaans as much as he wants and hopefully they will pick up both languages. I also thought I'd get his family to post over children's books in Afrikaans to help with reading/writing because being able to speak the language doesn't mean you can read it. Afrikaans is especially difficult in my opinion because so many words come from your throat - it's very guttural!
When I first heard people speaking it, I thought they were having an argument because it sounds so gruff! Turned out they were just having a regular conversation!

[Mother Duck]

Hi BJ - has been a most enjoyable thread for me personally so thank you for starting it!

Allyoo and I have discovered a common thread!

As for the gutteral language - this will be something that just comes naturally to them after they hear their dad and others doing the same

And this skill is priceless when it comes to learning many new languages - is Afrikaans somewhere between Dutch and German?

Good luck with your learning it all too - particularly with your pride when the kids are a bit older and cheeky - saying stuff in Afrikaans - if I were you I wouldn't let on that you know what you do just to catch them out :p :)

[zenifa]

For those interested in getting bilingual story books for their children - check out http://www.upabebe.com - they are based in Sydney and have a range of bilingual story books, posters, multilingual audio read along books and can also do personalised story books. They have books in over 40 languages! I have just ordered some books, so I'll let everyone know what they are like when I receive them.

[Vespera]

Dh speaks French and is currently learning Russian just because he wants to and we have every intention of teaching our kids hopefully both languages. When we have travelled we have picked up kids books in other languages and eventually will buy some disney movies in other languages to help with the learning.

We are also planning on sending our kids to a Montessori school and they start teaching Indonesian from 2.5 years so I think its totally worth it especially when we spent a couple of months in France and most of the jobs over there expect you to be bi or even tri lingual. Just imagine the doors you are opening for your kids.

If you know another language go for it!

[gidgeroo]

My mums friend is Greek & when she watches her grandson, she only ever speaks Greek to him. At home its English all the way. He is now 3 & can understand both English & Greek, and speaks a bit of both too :)
RB

This was our situation too but unfortunately mum and dad don't often look after DS1 anymore. He still remembers certain words and often I'll speak Greek to him (DH is Aussie) and he knows I'm speaking a different language. I guess we will eventually enrol him in a Greek class when he's old enough and in the meantime I'll keep introducing new words. And Zenifa thanks for the link - I'll buy a few books to get started.:thumbsup:

Incidently my DH has just started a Greek Language course at the local community centre. Tonight's his first night - perhaps we can both speak to our boys in a different language one day.

Yiasou!

[OceBel]

dh speaks spanish and speaks to dd in spanish only, i speak to dd in english, she can understand both languages more so english, she doesnt get confused, she knows both languages well, but prefers to speak in english, i think children can soak up languages quickly.

[monica8631]

I am Spanish and basically didn't learn to speak english until I went to school. I can't remember having any difficulties whatsoever, or being stressed out about not understanding what was being said. My DH is aussie and we have decided to teach our DS Spanish as well. I speak and sing to him in spanish (mind you I sometimes speak in english) he loves it and my DH is also learning to speak spanish in the process. My parent's english isn't the best so one of my main reasons for teaching my DH spanish is so that they can communicate better. I am also a teacher and used to teach both spanish and italian. Young children are absolute sponges and are able to learn 3 languages without getting too confused (I read that somewhere but don't remember where). So I say Go for it! Anyone who is thinking about teaching their child another language do so as it also opens up a whole new world as well as many new opportunites for them in the long run.

[ChubStar]

This website might help. http://www.multilingualchildren.org/

My DH mum speaks French to our DS. She regrets not teaching her boys when they were young and we are happy for her to teach DS. I have heard that bilingual children have many benefits with learning etc.

In regards to the language (Afrikaan) I believe is does have similarities to German and Dutch (mainly Dutch), so teaching your child may benefit with learning other lanuages when they grow up.

[kymmy]

I think its a great idea to teach a child to speak another language.
Unfortunately hubby doesn't speak Maori well, but I love for our children to learn.
We use certain maori words but its not quite the same as teaching them to speak properly and fluently.

[Mother Duck]

Thanks guys for the links - truly this bub hub is a parenting treasure chest!!

[T Bear]

is Afrikaans somewhere between Dutch and German?

Actually Afrikaans is a language that developed from peasant Dutch (when S. Africa was settled by Dutch farmers). It has a lot in common with Dutch, and I imagine that it also has similatities to other germanic languages.

I speak a little bit of Dutch (my mum is Dutch) but I really wish that mum had spoken it with me when I was little. I had to learn it as an adult when I lived in Holland for a while, and it's MUCH harder to learn languages as an adult. I'm hoping that between me and my mum we can teach some Dutch to my bubba.

Young children learn language in a totally different way to adults. They incorporate it directly into their world, whereas as an adult you learn new languages by translation which is much less efficient. Also learning multiple languages as a child makes it easier to learn more new languages as an adult. I'm not exactly sure of why, but the more languages you speak the easier it is to learn new ones.

[tickles]

Being bilingual myself is such a great skill to have and I am so grateful to my parents for their persistence and patience with continuing to speak Chinese with me as I was born in OZ. They were very strict to keep our traditions and culture going. And I had no troubles learning English - as a matter of fact, I speak english with all my cousins and speak Chinese with my parents (and oldies), it just comes naturally.

I also, picked up 2 other chinese dialects while growing up although not very fluent but just enough.

I am now a mum myself and have a 15month old daughther and she is starting to speak. I speak to her in Chinese (Hakka dialect - there are many chinese dialects) Hubby's side speaks to her in Cantonese another chinese dialect and English in between. I feel that she understands when we speak different lanugages, although I don't know if she knows that they are different?

It's harder to ensure that they will continue to understand and speak the second lanugage as they grow older - when they get to school, english will become a natural easier language, so it is important to be persistent and consistent at home especially during schooling years as a lot of my cousins and even my brother cannot speak chinese very well. Parents surrender and end up accepting to speak english all the time. So the 2nd language becomes lost.

In my opinion, it is a personal choice and there is no right or wrong. But you just got to be persistent and consistent if you want the results for the long term.

I haven't done much reading about this, so all I can offer is my own experience being bilingual because my parents spoke to me in Chinese and attempting to do the same for my daughter now.

All the best !!!
xoxo

[Wake_tonight]

I speak German and fully plan on speaking German to my children. I majored in linguitic bilingualism at uni and its recognised that the ability to become a 'native speaker' is lost by puberty. I did not learn German as a young child and i think it makes it a lot more difficult to master the language. I think it is a great thing for a child to be exposed to different cultures!

[BabyJoy]

I had forgotten I had posted this thread and then tonight discovered many more posts! Thanks Zenifa for the websites links! :thumbsup:

And good luck to everyone teaching their children many languages! :yelclap: