Not the English Language

[Malrothien 6]

So I can insult you and get away with it??????????

** no - I can read Spanish just fine - especially insults, puta.

Sounds like an elaborate plan.

I don't know if it's true but when I was in college, a professor said that children learn language best when they are between two and seven years old.

Hakuna matata.

God bless us all.

FAE

It is true. Children's brains form differently when they are bilingual compared to monolingual.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2643466/

[Marina-Del 10]

I'm so jealous of your kids Laura

[Calypso 464]

I can't help but smile whenever my husband tries to use a few Cebuano-Visayan words. He even sounds funny by just saying "salamat" and "sili" (he likes sili a lot and is thinking of planting some in a pot... it's just that we don't know where to get the right seeds).

FAE

I've picked up a few phrases and words in Bisaya from listening to my wife speak to my 8 yr. old stepson, but I don't know enough to hold a conversation. She speaks to our 21 mo. old in Bisaya and he understands a lot of it, but I don't think either he or his older brother will really speak unless they are surrounded by people speaking the language all the time.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It is true. Children's brains form differently when they are bilingual compared to monolingual.

Same with learning music. Their brain neurons develop differently than if they never learn to play music.

[Ladylethal 12]

I am too, Marina! I wish I knew 3 languages as a kid, even though I know them now. I've been fluent in 2 languages since age 16 but I wish my Spanish was better.

[Calypso 464]

That's cool.

I really want to learn Spanish and French so that I can teach my children someday.

It's quite an advantage growing up in the Philippines with three languages already (Filipino/Tagalog, Cebuano-Visayan, and English). Yet, Spanish and French seem so interesting and useful as I see it.

FAE

Well, my native language is Portuguese. Luis's native language is Spanish. We met and dated in English, as we were both fluent in it. We spoke English only till I moved here. Since we're in PR I learned Spanish (I knew a bit) after I arrived and we use mostly Spanish in our house although I go back to English when I can't express myself in Spanish (I'm almost fluent but some things still confuse me) in the way I want.

Luis has taken a lot of trips to Brasil so he now knows Portuguese. He understands it perfectly and will speak a mix of portuguese and spanish to my family which they understand but its not fluent portuguese.

Since Luis is joining the Air Force we'll most likely be living in the US for our next several years together and we plan to teach our kids all 3 languages. I'll speak Portuguese to them, he'll speak Spanish, and they'll know English from the environment.

[sachinky 465]

I speak English, Bengali and Hindi.

My husband speaks English and German. And Irish, as he calls it. That's when he puts on his "Desmond" accent.

He's taught me to say "gutten nacht?" and "Ich liebe dich."

He's also picked up a ton of Hindi words from watching Bollywood films and listening to me when I'm on the phone with my best friend or my parents. He can even sing a few songs from the films. It's fricken adorable. Although it's too bad that I can no longer slip in a swear word or insult him during a fight. He always knows exactly what I said.

Edited December 29, 2009 by sachinky

[christeen 966]

I learned Italian for my husband and to be able to interact with his family... Although, when we met we only spoke to each other in English so it is difficult for him to converse with me just in Italian (unless we are in Italy) he always reverts back to English... But I am fluent now and we speak it exclusively with his family and friends... But I have been told that my Southern accent makes my pronunciation pretty recognizable.

I spoke mediocre Spanish (living in S. Florida) when we met, but now, although I understand all the Spanish, I seem to first go to Italian, then translate into Spanish??? But after being around just Spanish for a bit, I can more easily converse.

I am also OK and can get along with German, although, when we are in Switzerland visiting his sister I cannot translate directly from German to Italian, I have to go through English??

My native language is Southern (Tennessee version)... If ya'll know what I mean???

I have a pretty good ear for languages and my father and I spoke in Polish to each other when I was little... Guess I got the bi-lingual brain from that???

[Rhiannercakes 14]

I'm going to try learning Mandarin.

My fiance's originally from Taiwan, and they speak Mandarin alot in this house. It's probably in my best interest to learn it, I'd also like my children to know both English and Mandarin.