First baby. Two cultures. Language? - Page 3

Nathyrra · Mar 9th, 2010, 04:18 AM

We're going to be bringing baby up in a Bilingual (sp?) household. As I am English and husband is German. We live in Germany and none of husband's family speak English.

We've researched this alot over the past couple of weeks to see what's best for us. We decided that we will speak English to baby in the house, but when we are outside the house, even if it's just us we will speak German. Hopefully it should give baby the sense of there being two seperate languages.

I'm really excited to pass this kind of priceless experience onto baby ^^ From all the things I've read about it, it seems like there is nothing but good things that come out of having two mother tongues from the get go.

Kitty23 · Mar 9th, 2010, 06:43 AM

Children have an amazing capacity to learn to I think you should speak Bulgarian to the baby and you dh english

it won't be confusing at all!

I used to nanny for 4 bi lingual children ( german/english) and the parents each spoke their mother tongue to the children, not once did the children find it confusing xxx

Linz88 · Mar 9th, 2010, 06:46 AM

english as all the babies immediate relatives can speak english and you live in a country whos primary language is english

kmac625 · Mar 9th, 2010, 20:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Linz88

english as all the babies immediate relatives can speak english and you live in a country whos primary language is english

She wasn't saying that the baby wouldn't learn english also, she was just wondering about teaching the baby bulgarian too...babies have a huge learning capacity for language and as a child gets older it diminishes so that by the time we become adults it is harder to learn a new language than when we are very young. All children can benefit from learning more than one language. In fact, in several European countries such as Switzerland it is common to speak 3 or 4 languages fluently.

PreggyEggy · Mar 9th, 2010, 21:22 PM

I think your baby is very lucky to be born into a family that can teach it two languages! It's an incredible gift. I only wish I was able to do something like that for my baby. You should totally go for it!

modo · Mar 10th, 2010, 14:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmac625

Quote:

Originally Posted by Linz88

english as all the babies immediate relatives can speak english and you live in a country whos primary language is english

She wasn't saying that the baby wouldn't learn english also, she was just wondering about teaching the baby bulgarian too...babies have a huge learning capacity for language and as a child gets older it diminishes so that by the time we become adults it is harder to learn a new language than when we are very young. All children can benefit from learning more than one language. In fact, in several European countries such as Switzerland it is common to speak 3 or 4 languages fluently.

I second this! I am an Arab and my husband is English. My whole family speak English fluently yet when we get together we all tend to switch to Arabic. I have to translate the conversation to English as I don't want DH to be left out. Until I brought him home to meet my parents I never knew how much of our conversation was in Arabic. I had assumed in was 50/50 but in reality its more like 80/20.

Now I have two sets of half American cousins one who understand Arabic and the other who don't. The ones who don't frequently feel left out of conversations and wish their father had taught them his language. Despite living in America they come across Arabic all the time but don't understand it. The other set of cousins will understand the Arabic and reply in English and because everyone is fluent in English it works out for them.

I want to ensure that LO at least understands Arabic so he never feels left out.

DreaminOfBaby · Mar 10th, 2010, 18:45 PM

TEACH BOTH! They say the best time to learn to learn a new language is as a baby or child. They learn things a lot easier and quicker, it's harder as an adult to learn a new language. I always said that if I had kids that were only half Caucasian then they would also learn the language of whatever their other half is. However in my case the other half's primary language is still going to be English. I think too that if your culture is really important to you then pass it on and share it with your child. Being Bilingual is very helpful in the career world too so it's not gonna hurt!

BabyL0Ve · Mar 10th, 2010, 20:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmac625

Quote:

Originally Posted by Linz88

english as all the babies immediate relatives can speak english and you live in a country whos primary language is english

She wasn't saying that the baby wouldn't learn english also, she was just wondering about teaching the baby bulgarian too...babies have a huge learning capacity for language and as a child gets older it diminishes so that by the time we become adults it is harder to learn a new language than when we are very young. All children can benefit from learning more than one language. In fact, in several European countries such as Switzerland it is common to speak 3 or 4 languages fluently.

Thats what I was about to say thanks

yeah the baby will learn english in a heartbeat because it is surrounded by english, but i will talk to it in bulgarian so it learns its second language

Mar 9th, 2010, 04:18 AM	#21
Nathyrra Pregnant (Expecting) Chat Happy BnB Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sachsen, Germany. Though I'm from Worcestershire, England. Posts: 1,201	We're going to be bringing baby up in a Bilingual (sp?) household. As I am English and husband is German. We live in Germany and none of husband's family speak English. We've researched this alot over the past couple of weeks to see what's best for us. We decided that we will speak English to baby in the house, but when we are outside the house, even if it's just us we will speak German. Hopefully it should give baby the sense of there being two seperate languages. I'm really excited to pass this kind of priceless experience onto baby ^^ From all the things I've read about it, it seems like there is nothing but good things that come out of having two mother tongues from the get go.

Status: Offline

Mar 9th, 2010, 06:43 AM	#22
Kitty23 Mum (Mom) Chat Happy BnB Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: South East, UK Posts: 2,152	Children have an amazing capacity to learn to I think you should speak Bulgarian to the baby and you dh english it won't be confusing at all! I used to nanny for 4 bi lingual children ( german/english) and the parents each spoke their mother tongue to the children, not once did the children find it confusing xxx

Status: Offline

Mar 9th, 2010, 06:46 AM	#23
Linz88 Mum (Mom) Chat Happy BnB Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: West Brom\Bham, Uk Posts: 1,679	english as all the babies immediate relatives can speak english and you live in a country whos primary language is english

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Mar 9th, 2010, 21:22 PM	#25
PreggyEggy Pregnant (Expecting) Active BnB Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Staffordshire Posts: 679	I think your baby is very lucky to be born into a family that can teach it two languages! It's an incredible gift. I only wish I was able to do something like that for my baby. You should totally go for it!

Status: Offline

Mar 10th, 2010, 18:45 PM	#27
DreaminOfBaby Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: USA Posts: 198	TEACH BOTH! They say the best time to learn to learn a new language is as a baby or child. They learn things a lot easier and quicker, it's harder as an adult to learn a new language. I always said that if I had kids that were only half Caucasian then they would also learn the language of whatever their other half is. However in my case the other half's primary language is still going to be English. I think too that if your culture is really important to you then pass it on and share it with your child. Being Bilingual is very helpful in the career world too so it's not gonna hurt!

Status: Offline

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