My 8 month old is starting to really try and talk right now a lot and says some words like mama dada nananana (which is no when she doesnt want to do something) and now sometimes I find her saying things that I'm postive are words shes trying out because she'll say the same sound consistently...but heres the catch....her grandma speaks spanish to her and teaches it to her, which i encourage, but neither me or her daddy speak spanish so how are we going to recognize what she's saying if she starts to say some things in spanish and some in english? ↓
hi margie, i'm not sure exactly how to answer your question, because if your dd does start saying words in spanish, you probably wont understand unless you also understand spanish. my husband speaks spanish, but also speaks a little english. i speak english but am also fluent in spanish. my dh speaks to our dd in spanish and i speak to her in english. i hope she learns both languages. i have read that bi-lingual babies have a tendancy to start talking later beacuse their little brains have more words and sounds to process. but i applaud you for allowing your boyfriends mom to speak to your child in spanish. it is a beautiful language. and is such a great thing to be bi-lingual! ↑
I agree with tracie, you need to learn some basic words. Have his grandma teach you the words she has been teaching your baby. My dh and I speak both Spanish and English. I wouldn't say we are fluent but use the Spanish on a regular basis. Our dd can say words in both and understands both fairly well. Tracie- I talked to my pediatrician about the bilingual effects on a child and she said their speech may be delayed but they take off once they do start talking. ↑
i am bilingual and plan on introducing Vietnamese to my son. i read in the book "babies first year" that babies may have language confusion if taught both languages at the same time so they will be slower to pick up both. but my friend taught her baby both at once and he picked them both up very quickly and he is only 2 years old. so the book recommends introducing a second language at 2 yrs old. it says that this way the baby can understand one fully and the second language will absorb quickly. who knows... i think anything works! i dont know how i am going to speak one language with my lo during the day everyday when i dont usually speak it at all since i have no vietnamese speaking friends or family here. ↑
Hi! I am married to a Swiss and living in Switzerland, so the only english my kids get is from me. I don't understand much Swiss, but I am quickly learning! My 2.5 year old is the oldest (other dd is 10 months). She is speaking non-stop, but it's a complete mix of the languages. Until they are 4-5, they aren't supposed to be able to differentiate. I don't understand everything and yes- it does hurt my feelings a little. But, you need to look at the future and how amazing it is for your little one to learn languages the easiest way possible. We went to visit the US in spring and since then, my daughter speaks so much more english. And, I always try to tell her to "speak English now"...if we are with people who speak english. It's a slow process, but she's getting it.
As to them talking later---I think it's kid dependent, because at daycare, our daughter speaks more than the other kids her age.
Don't worry about not understand, YOU will pick it up. Be thankful that teaching them a second language is so easy..., is all that I have to say!!!!! ↑
My DH is French and often speaks French to the children, me and everyone else speaks English. Both our 2 spoke very early and are excellent at speaking - 19 month old DS speaks in small sentences like "I fell down", "I did it" "I don't know" and has done for some time. They both have quite limited French - DS can say a few numbers in French and my 2.5 year old DD can say about 30 words or so in French but holds conversations in English. I speak French though not fluently but can understand pretty much all of it so understanding isn't a problem. It is common for all children to make up their own words though and use them consistently - like DD would call her dolly Sissy. Often children will think that one language is Daddy's language, one is Mummy's - my DD will say Papa says it called this before she says what the item is in French. So she may just speak Spanish to her grandma but I think it would be useful for you to learn some Spanish anyway. My DH has a friend who's child speaks 1 language with the mother, 1 with the father and another at nursery and he'll say at nursery I speak x. It is good for them to learn another language. ↑
I am confused, if your bf mom is Spanish speaking, why doesn't he speak Spanish...? How much time does grandma spend with your daughter...? If it is only a few days a week, maybe you can fine a Spanish speaking babysitter or day care.. ↑
thanks for your suggestions everybody! i do know some basic spanish already but i am learning more with her. her grandma speaks to her in english also but just a combo of both...oh and lunamoo, i figured it might be kind of confusing, but he doesn't speak spanish because although his father is hispanic also he doesn't know a lot of spanish since his family emphasised that their children know english in their home so his mom never spoke spanish to him. soo...basically my boyfriend kind of got ripped off in a way because he could have known both languages and his mom has always felt bad that she never taught her kids spanish and now she wants to make up for it i guess by teaching it to her granddaughter and i fully encourage the lessons, i try to ask her "what are you saying to her" a lot so that i can recognize the words. i am thinking of taking conversational spanish at the local community college. we live in AZ and it is very beneficial to be bilingual anyways. ↑
