Because Mama is American and Papa is French, K & D are raising their children to be bilingual. I am fascinated that, at only 22 months, C knows the difference of how to speak to each of his parents. If he accidentally uses the wrong language they only ask, "How does Mama say that?" and usually he gets the answer correct. He knows both French and English for most words, though he sometimes has a preference for some words more than others. Because he takes out the trash with Papa, he says "poubelle," but because he opens the windows with Mama, he says "shutters." He has an amazing vocabulary, including all sorts of tools and transportation - in both languages!
I spent about an hour with C in the garden today, and noticed that his language of play is French. This is normal, because he has much more exposure to that than English. The neighbors, the babysitter, his grandparents...for this reason, Papa has forbidden me from speaking French with him. It's actually harder than it sounds, especially when there are others around. After lunch, C & I walked to the local Monoprix for some "milk and jam," or "lait et confiture," depending on the listener. We stopped to visit with his babysitter, and switching from English to French and back to English again was tricky. The same thing happened with the cashier, who even tried to speak English with us. The last thing I want is for people here to think that I don't speak French!
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing these details. It reminds me of raising my own children to speak more than one language. They often blended languages when they were 3, 4, or years old because they and figured out mom and dad spoke all the same languages. So the kitchen was always "cuisine" (I guess because it is easier to say) and such. When all their friends were speaking nothing but English, they began to refuse to speak to me in French, but I just kept speaking French to them anyway, even if they responded in English. Around 15 or 16 years of age, they began to communicate fully in French again. So tell your friends "Bravo!" for me.
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