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Monday, May 19, 2014

Spanglish

No that's not the title of our home movie. That's just what's happening around here.
It's mostly funny, but I have to confess that it does annoy me a bit. This is what happens when you learn a new language and you are lucky enough to meet people who speak the same both languages that you do, and so you mix them up, add some flavor and some new phrases which makes for a fun conversation- I mean you should read "The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" or "Drown." Although, Mr. Diaz claims that you do not need to know Spanish to understand his spanglish novels, I think you do.
However, when a toddler speaks Spanglish it is almost literally half and half. Sucio Hands is one of Nesta's go to Spanglish phrases. There's also Quieres ir downstairs mama? and the list goes on. The reason it annoys me, its because I feel he doesn't know all the words he needs to know in Spanish or in English, and so he decides to do this instead.
I know his vocabulary is still growing, and he will get those words but I'm impatient. I also get annoyed with myself because I think that if he didn't hear me speak English then his Spanish would be better.
It's all fine, and I need to relax but choosing to raise a child bilingual is hard work. Ask anyone who has tried or is trying.
New challenges means I need to find new books to read.

What language challenges are you having? Or what fun new phrases are your kiddos saying?