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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Jacob_Kap Pentaglot Newbie IsraelRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5106 days ago 11 posts - 12 votes Speaks: Arabic (Levantine), Russian, Modern Hebrew*, Arabic (Egyptian), German Studies: Arabic (Written), Japanese, Swiss-German | Message 1 of 6 05 October 2013 at 2:26pm | IP Logged |
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I have a niece who is now 7 months old. Everyone is talking to her in mixed Hebrew and Russian, with Russian being dominant. How come she would be able to differ between the two languages when she grows older? I mean, how can a child understand that those are two different languages?
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| Henkkles Triglot Senior Member Finland Joined 4251 days ago 544 posts - 1141 votes  Speaks: Finnish*, English, Swedish Studies: Russian | Message 2 of 6 05 October 2013 at 2:36pm | IP Logged |
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It'll probably just come to her. The two have very different sets of rules so she'll learn to use other set of rules for the other stuff and so on at least when she starts school. That is my prediction given that everything will go normally. Someone more educated on the matter could probably correct me or expand on the subject, but I'd encourage you not to worry.
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| catullus_roar Quadrilingual Octoglot Groupie Australia Joined 4566 days ago 89 posts - 184 votes Speaks: Malay, Hokkien*, English*, Mandarin*, Cantonese*, French, German, Spanish Studies: Italian, Latin, Armenian, Afrikaans, Russian | Message 3 of 6 05 October 2013 at 2:36pm | IP Logged |
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I think that your niece would be able to understand that the two languages are separate, but she might not be able to speak them separately and this would cause confusion. Perhaps it would be better if one person stuck to one language. This way, both languages could be spoken but a relative should only speak one language to her. That way, she will learn to separate both languages based on the people she is talking to.
But don't be worried... children learn quickly and differentiate between languages far better than adults can. She will probably pick up both languages well. Lucky girl, to be able to be exposed to both languages at such a young age! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4907 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 4 of 6 05 October 2013 at 6:17pm | IP Logged |
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Multilingual families I have known have found it useful to speak different languages in different contexts. For example, my sister, who lives in Belgium, always spoke English at home with her two children, and they always spoke Dutch when they were out and about. This divide worked well for when the kids went to school in Dutch. This sort of divide also prevents one language being used for simple things while the stronger language is used as default for more difficult discussions.
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| Jacob_Kap Pentaglot Newbie IsraelRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5106 days ago 11 posts - 12 votes Speaks: Arabic (Levantine), Russian, Modern Hebrew*, Arabic (Egyptian), German Studies: Arabic (Written), Japanese, Swiss-German | Message 5 of 6 05 October 2013 at 9:44pm | IP Logged |
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Well, I am not worried about her mixing up the two languages, as I also was born into these two languages. But my question is how does it happen that a child can divide two languages, when they are spoken to him in a mixed way?
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| beano Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4620 days ago 1049 posts - 2152 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Serbian, Hungarian | Message 6 of 6 05 October 2013 at 10:24pm | IP Logged |
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Through time, kids will automatically figure out which language is which. I think the more languages a child is
exposed to, the better. Each to their own, but I never really understand why some parents avoid their native tongue with their kids. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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