Bilingual babies

Jodie.82 · Apr 12th, 2012, 20:15 PM

who else has a bilingual baby, whats your situation and can you share some info with me?
Im English, OH is Peruvian/Italian and we live in Peru. I speak english to DD and we mostly speak english at home with OH speaking spanish to DD and spanish from everyone else and TV

When did your babies say their first words and did you notice a delay in speech in general? as Ive read that bilingual kiddies take longer to form a large vocabulary in either language but catch up by about 3, is this what you have found? also how did you manage teaching each language did you keep them seperate i.e mum speaks one and dad the other?

steph. · Apr 12th, 2012, 22:28 PM

I speak to Sophia in portuguese and everyone else speaks to her in english. My sister does the same with her 14month old and her toddler understands both languages. Her vocab isnt great, she says maybe 20 words, mainly portuguese ones, but she has a really good understanding of both. Its pretty cute to see her respond to 2 languages!

Amygdala · Apr 13th, 2012, 02:00 AM

Yes, keeping the languages seperate is important for them to be able to tell them apart. We do what you do, I speak one language and DH another, although we speak English to each other and to friends as we're in the UK. I wouldn't worry too much about whether they're slower to start talking. Kids vary so much in their speech development anyway and they will catch up eventually.

**OmarsMum** · Apr 13th, 2012, 03:27 AM

I speak to Omar in English & everyone else in arabic. When we go out, we speak in English to him, he watches tv in English, his books are in English & we go to classes that are in English. He was talking using words meaning them at 8 months & now he speaks fluently using the two languages. He knows the alphabet, colours, numbers, etc. His speech is advanced for his age. xx

davidjoemum · Apr 13th, 2012, 03:51 AM

i speak to my son in polish and everyone else in english he is 1 yo and seems understand both.doesnt say much yet(just baby talk)but we'll see how will go

mama_t · Apr 13th, 2012, 06:00 AM

english and german for us, usually when im alone with the kids i speak german and when daddy is with us its english. it worked out good with our 12 year old, he is fluent in both languages and since we have been in the middle east for the past 6 years, he picked up arabic like it was nothing!
I never just spoke german to him, i spoke whatever language was appropriate, he started speaking the same time other kids speak.

mama_t · Apr 13th, 2012, 06:07 AM

english and german for us, usually when im alone with the kids i speak german and when daddy is with us its english. it worked out good with our 12 year old, he is fluent in both languages and since we have been in the middle east for the past 6 years, he picked up arabic like it was nothing!
I never just spoke german to him, i spoke whatever language was appropriate, he started speaking the same time other kids speak.

aliss · Apr 13th, 2012, 06:43 AM

We live in Quebec (French) and my OH is French. I'm English-speaking and my LO knows English primarily. His family here speaks French to him.

His speech is delayed at this point - he will be 2 in 6 weeks and so far, the only word is the dog's name (Simba). I'm not too concerned really, he was slow with physical developments too and always caught up. My only concern is for when he starts school (French-only due to the law), my OH refuses to speak French to him and it's hard for me as I am not fluent.

steph. · Apr 13th, 2012, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aliss

We live in Quebec (French) and my OH is French. I'm English-speaking and my LO knows English primarily. His family here speaks French to him.

His speech is delayed at this point - he will be 2 in 6 weeks and so far, the only word is the dog's name (Simba). I'm not too concerned really, he was slow with physical developments too and always caught up. My only concern is for when he starts school (French-only due to the law), my OH refuses to speak French to him and it's hard for me as I am not fluent.

he'll pick up french too. my parents only spoke to me in portuguese, we lived in italy, and i went to an english school. I speak all 3 fluently.

aliss · Apr 13th, 2012, 07:40 AM

Lucky gal!!

I wish my mom taught me her native language

Apr 12th, 2012, 20:15 PM	#1
Jodie.82 Other Active BnB Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: South America (from UK) Posts: 833	Bilingual babies who else has a bilingual baby, whats your situation and can you share some info with me? Im English, OH is Peruvian/Italian and we live in Peru. I speak english to DD and we mostly speak english at home with OH speaking spanish to DD and spanish from everyone else and TV When did your babies say their first words and did you notice a delay in speech in general? as Ive read that bilingual kiddies take longer to form a large vocabulary in either language but catch up by about 3, is this what you have found? also how did you manage teaching each language did you keep them seperate i.e mum speaks one and dad the other?

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Apr 12th, 2012, 22:28 PM	#2
steph. Mum (Mom) Chat Happy BnB Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Australia Posts: 1,698	I speak to Sophia in portuguese and everyone else speaks to her in english. My sister does the same with her 14month old and her toddler understands both languages. Her vocab isnt great, she says maybe 20 words, mainly portuguese ones, but she has a really good understanding of both. Its pretty cute to see her respond to 2 languages!

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Apr 13th, 2012, 02:00 AM	#3
Amygdala Pregnant (Expecting) BnB Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 4,380	Yes, keeping the languages seperate is important for them to be able to tell them apart. We do what you do, I speak one language and DH another, although we speak English to each other and to friends as we're in the UK. I wouldn't worry too much about whether they're slower to start talking. Kids vary so much in their speech development anyway and they will catch up eventually.

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Apr 13th, 2012, 03:27 AM	#4
OmarsMum Mum (Mom) BabyandBump Team Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UAE Posts: 16,994	I speak to Omar in English & everyone else in arabic. When we go out, we speak in English to him, he watches tv in English, his books are in English & we go to classes that are in English. He was talking using words meaning them at 8 months & now he speaks fluently using the two languages. He knows the alphabet, colours, numbers, etc. His speech is advanced for his age. xx

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Apr 13th, 2012, 03:51 AM	#5
davidjoemum Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: kent Posts: 762	i speak to my son in polish and everyone else in english he is 1 yo and seems understand both.doesnt say much yet(just baby talk)but we'll see how will go

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Apr 13th, 2012, 06:00 AM	#6
mama_t Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Germany Posts: 635	english and german for us, usually when im alone with the kids i speak german and when daddy is with us its english. it worked out good with our 12 year old, he is fluent in both languages and since we have been in the middle east for the past 6 years, he picked up arabic like it was nothing! I never just spoke german to him, i spoke whatever language was appropriate, he started speaking the same time other kids speak.

Status: Offline

Apr 13th, 2012, 06:07 AM	#7
mama_t Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Germany Posts: 635	english and german for us, usually when im alone with the kids i speak german and when daddy is with us its english. it worked out good with our 12 year old, he is fluent in both languages and since we have been in the middle east for the past 6 years, he picked up arabic like it was nothing! I never just spoke german to him, i spoke whatever language was appropriate, he started speaking the same time other kids speak.

Status: Offline

Apr 13th, 2012, 06:43 AM	#8
aliss AutoSignup (SAAB) BnB Spammer Elite Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Québec Posts: 24,422	We live in Quebec (French) and my OH is French. I'm English-speaking and my LO knows English primarily. His family here speaks French to him. His speech is delayed at this point - he will be 2 in 6 weeks and so far, the only word is the dog's name (Simba). I'm not too concerned really, he was slow with physical developments too and always caught up. My only concern is for when he starts school (French-only due to the law), my OH refuses to speak French to him and it's hard for me as I am not fluent.

Status: Online

Apr 13th, 2012, 07:40 AM	#10
aliss AutoSignup (SAAB) BnB Spammer Elite Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Québec Posts: 24,422	Lucky gal!! I wish my mom taught me her native language

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