What age is the golden age to start sticking to one language only with your trilingual polyglot? When does it all stop being merely a funky and super-amusing experiment? And when does the time come to stop playing and start considering his development seriously?
"Mummy, you speak French?!! Mummy, don't change languages! Mummy, il faut dire HELLO. Il faut pas dire BONJOUR!" My 4-year-old has now come into the habit of correcting me all the time and insisting on my exclusive use of English with him. It seems he has suddenly this month developed some strong resistance to mixing his three languages (English, French and Russian) and as a result come up with some techniques to prevent mummy from chronic over-use of French and Russian.
Recently at a restaurant in Strasbourg: "Look Mummy, the boy is speaking English! He wants some sausages and chips!" He is clearly becoming consciously aware of such a thing as 'language differentiation'. But what does that mean? Is that a sign that he is seeking stability and reassurance or is he actually just playing with me? Time will tell. But whatever the reason for his recent change of heart, it is clearly a sign of progress. And our job as parents is to channel it into the right direction and guide our little munchkins towards their perfect multilingual and multicultural future. Good luck!
"Mummy, you speak French?!! Mummy, don't change languages! Mummy, il faut dire HELLO. Il faut pas dire BONJOUR!" My 4-year-old has now come into the habit of correcting me all the time and insisting on my exclusive use of English with him. It seems he has suddenly this month developed some strong resistance to mixing his three languages (English, French and Russian) and as a result come up with some techniques to prevent mummy from chronic over-use of French and Russian.
Recently at a restaurant in Strasbourg: "Look Mummy, the boy is speaking English! He wants some sausages and chips!" He is clearly becoming consciously aware of such a thing as 'language differentiation'. But what does that mean? Is that a sign that he is seeking stability and reassurance or is he actually just playing with me? Time will tell. But whatever the reason for his recent change of heart, it is clearly a sign of progress. And our job as parents is to channel it into the right direction and guide our little munchkins towards their perfect multilingual and multicultural future. Good luck!
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