Photo by JAG Photography
Although I know most people would just find it funny–I mean, even I chuckled when I first heard it–the truth is I was pretty disturbed by what happened a few days ago while my daughter, Vanessa, was building a house with her pink and purple blocks.
We were in the living room and she was telling me what she was doing when, all of a sudden, one of the towers she had built toppled to the ground. Her reaction was to calmly tell me: “No ipota. La casa se cayó, peyo ahoya yo la voy a fixear“. At first, I didn’t really pay too much attention because I got what she was saying, but then I realized what had just happened. Quickly I asked: “¿Qué?” dreading the answer, hoping I had heard wrong. Of course, I hadn’t. She went on to repeat the sentence the same exact way it had originally come out of her mouth. I can’t lie, my ears hurt!
Ok, so let me backtrack a bit to update you as to what’s been going on this summer in terms of Vanessa’s language development. Vanessa’s English vocabulary has exploded. Not one day goes by that I am not amazed by the amount of English she knows–and I didn’t teach it to her. I mean we’re talking full-fledged sentences, not just words. And it’s more than just the basic: “here you go” and “that’s mine.” No. We’re talking stuff like: “I want to go to my house now. I’m tired, mama (not mamá).” Or, “What are you doing? I want to help you with that.”
My response each and every time is to tell her I don’t understand what she is saying. I’m pretty sure she knows I’m bluffing, but it works, so I use it while I can.
I’ve been trying to figure out how this happened and I guess there’s a few answers for this. First, she’s been spending a lot more time away from me and at a drop-in daycare this summer where she interacts with both children and caretakers solely in English. Second, she’s also been spending a lot of time (well, she drives her to daycare a couple of times a week) with my neighbor across the street, who is like a Granny to her. English only in that situation, too. Finally, she’s three years old and I believe her vocabulary is just supposed to expand exponentially at this point.
Even though I am truly proud and amazed by her language development, I have started to kind of worry about how this will affect her usage of Spanish. Mostly, how it will affect her perceived need to speak Spanish–which, as we’ve said in the past–is one of the major pitfalls of raising a bilingual child.
Another thing that I’ve noticed lately is the kind of behavior that I would describe as code-switching and which so many parents raising multilingual children constantly worry about. In other words, Vanessa will say stuff like “Mama, you wanna play con this?” Why? Did she forget the word “with”? I don’t know the answer, but then again, I haven’t been worried enough about this type of language usage to find out.
However, the event described above is another story.
Some people have expressed their concern or unease with the word Spanglish. I guess both Ana and I were aware that it would bother some of our readers when we decided to use it as part of our blog’s name. In the end, I think it just depends on how you define the word. To me, it basically means what I do on a regular basis: go back and forth between English and Spanish. I believe it’s expected after being raised among two cultures and two languages for the majority of my life. Although I know I feel more comfortable speaking Spanish, as you can see from the last six months, I don’t have any problems communicating in English. However, and I’ve said this in past posts, sometimes it feels like part of what I want to express, sounds better in English if I’m speaking Spanish and viceversa. So, I go back and forth.
That said, I would never be caught dead saying something like what came out of my beautiful daughter’s mouth the other day: fixear. That simply would not ever sound better to me than using the word fix or arreglar. That’s the kind of Spanglish that I do have a problem with, the kind that hurts my ears.
Anyhow, I was hoping that episode had been a fluke. I was mistaken. A couple of days after that event, we were sitting down to have breakfast and Vanessa spotted a picture of a child on a swing on the box of cereal. Without any kind of hesitation she said: “Mira mami, ese niño está swingeando.” And this time, I truly wanted to die! I calmly told her the word was “columpeando,” but then I realized this could become an issue.
I guess I’m going to be needing the expertise of one of our Ask an Expert panelists. In the meantime, what do you think about this? Am I crazy? Am I overreacting? Or is this the kind of thing I need to deal with now and if so, how?
LOL- she sounds like George Lopez! I used to think like that when I was learning Spanish, but I knew better as an adult that swingeando wasn’t a word. I am sure that as her vocabularies grow in each language she will stop doing that. Maybe fixear or swingeando is just easier for her to pronounce right now than arreglar or culumpeando so she is adapting. But don’t take her to East LA- Everybody speaks REAL Spanglish there, just like that!
Hi Roxana,
sorry but I can’t wait to hear what the experts will tell you regarding this “issue”, since I’m going through a similar stage with my 33 month old boy… He hasn’t yet come up with creations like “fixear”, but the code switching is getting worrisome… I’m guilty of mixing some English every now and then (particularly when the word in Spanish is long, complicated, unknown to him, or it is a kind of situation that requires quick reaction, that sort of thing), but I still keep trying for a more ‘pure’ Spanish, believe me…
All the best,
N.C., Calgary
I’m sure you knew I would have to chime in on this topic! I’m sorry to say that Vanessa will not grow out of it as someone suggested…but will get worse with time. Hence why it is soooo important to be strict and not to mix yourself in front of her. It’s not that I don’t understand your point about being able to express yourself by mixing… But think about it… When you acquired the two languages there was no mixing (sequential bilingualism) you were given the benefit of a clear separation of the languges. Thus, I have always said that Spanglish is a luxury once you are fluent in the two but not before.
I don’t know, Ines. I guess I am guilty of mixing languages in front of her. I know I don’t do it when I am talking directly to her, but I probably do it when I’m talking to her father. So, indirectly, she’s obviously hearing me doing it.
My upbringing was definitely different than hers–sequential as opposed to simultaneous and English was not dominant in my life until I was 9 and I moved from Argentina to South Africa. So, yes, there really was no mixing of the two languages until I moved to Miami at 14.
However, I want to believe that Vanessa is too young still to determine what will happen and that what she has been doing is part of the learning process–but maybe I’m wrong. I am gently correcting her, but a lot of what I read tells me it doesn’t really make a difference just yet.
Rox, I don’t think it makes a difference yet in terms of a little mixing now will cause them to mix forever. But, I think it’s very naive for people to think that if the only exposure you give your child to a minority language is at home with no strict rules + the parents modeling other languages (including mixing) that their child will some how grow out of it? How? I could believe this is that child will receive a formal education in the minority language eventually. But how will a child learn how to speak properly in the minority language if their only exposure is occasional? Can we learn to do anything well without dedication and comitment? Can you expect someone to learn new trade or a sport by just working on it when they feel like it…should we tell the swimming instructor not to always correct our kid’s stroke because he is swimming well enough to get across the pool? Why are we so lax when it comes to language?
Hi there,
yes, please do ask the expert
Sorry, I have no help to offer, but I’m facing the same (just with German and English – hope that’s okay). My daughter has just turned 4 and sometimes uses both languages in one word, particularly when she’s talking in the past tense. So, she may use the German past tense beginning and ending and insert the English verb, sometimes in the present tense and sometimes already in the past tense.
I found that sometimes she does this because she doesn’t know the German verb, but sometimes she’s able to correct herself when I ask her to say the whole thing in German.
Even though I do speak both English and German in front of her, this is definitely not the kind of mixing I do and I’m not sure where it’s coming from.
I’d really be interested to hear what an expert has to say on this.
.-= smashedpea´s last blog ..So Cute =-.
Mixing drive sme crazy as well or making up new words. It does mean that they are smart and are making up words up that they don’t know
My daughter said yo sabo” the other day I know I have never said that one! I think the main thing is to not stress about it and correct them in a playful way. You should read the interview with John De Mado on my blog. It really helped me feel better about the mistakes I hear my kids making. They are part of the language learning experience! It sounds like you are doing a great job raising her to be bilingual- even with some spanglish coming out!
.-= Tati´s last blog ..Spanish Rap Giveaway =-.
Thanks for sharing, Tati! That is a wonderful interview with John De Mado and I definitely think it puts at ease a lot of the worries many of us have.
I think for me the main thing is that I try to compare my upbringing to my daughter’s, but then I realize my mom didn’t really have to deal with some of the issues we’re facing since I didn’t really learn both languages simultaneously.
The other thing that throws me off a bit is that, as I’ve mentioned in the past, my husband and I raised my stepson bilingual and although he might use some Spanglish here and there, I don’t really think it’s a big problem. I would say his Spanish is not perfect–hey, neither is mine and I’m a native speaker–but he is fluent…
Tati- My 2 year old has been saying “yo sabo” and I keep correcting her that its “yo se”. Then my husband pointed out that she is conjugating the verb to the common yo form ending with “o”- so we say “sabes” to her, she thinks of saying “sabo’” for herself. Now I just think she’s a genius (lol) for figuring out how to conjugate the verbs w/o ever studying it in school. He said that he remembers his sisters doing the same thing when they were young, living in a Spanish only household. Even though she needs to learn the correct way- at least I understand why she is doing it.
The grammatical mistakes like “sabo” are common and normal -they also have nothing to do with exposure to more than one language. The word “fixear” is different because it mixes two languages. If you think about it… It’s quite resourceful of the children to substitute words they don’t know… And even conjugate it. The problem is not that the children mix… In fact, I think it’s unavoidable … The problem is that as parents we don’t correct them, that we don’t provide a minority langauge only environment so that they can learn to model the correct language patterns/vocabulary. It’s hard to be strict about language 24/7… But, based on my first hand experience, if we aren’t comitted to the minority language 100%… then the mixing will go from being the exception and become the rule. I’ve seen it a million times… Once mixing isthe rule and the child matures and is exposed more to the dominate language, they usually stop speaking the minority language though they may comprehend it perfectly.
When I first heard that the blog was called Spanglish baby words like fixiar and troca, ridiar and rentar came to mind. Thats what i think of when I hear the word spanglish. As far as codeswitching is concerned, much research has been written about it and I’ve read some. True codeswitching isn’t when you don’t know a word in Eng so you say it in Spanish or viceversa. It is when you are truely bilingual and can switch back and forth between the 2 languages effortlessly. It is a sign of being highly skilled and highly intelligent. My cousins in Miami are amazing. They can switch languages in a sentence 3or4 times and never miss a beat…efortlessly.
As a child born in the US in the 1970′s to a family that had recently immigrated from Cuba, I can honestly say that I grew up speaking Spanglish. And I mean in both senses of the word, switching back and forth between both languages AND speaking made up words. But the made up words were mostly made up by the adults!!! My abuelo was famous for taking English words and putting a Spanish twist or accent on them. I think it was my family’s way of learning the language as best as they could. I know that many many Cuban families developed their English in this manner. That’s why there are websites out there that are “Cuban” dictionaries because these words are truly inventions! It is funny, but I can see where learning Spanglish in this manner is not learning true “Spanish”.
I guess I have mixed feelings on this. I feel sort of protective and perhaps a bit defensive over the concept of Spanglish. I know many times friends of other Latino cultures have put down this type of language as not “real” or “correct” and I completely understand this. However, it is so much a part of who I am that it almost becomes a cultural issue.
Hence the first line of the post. After living in Miami for almost 20 years, I know exactly what your are talking about. I so appreciate you sharing your perspective because you are right, for some, it’s a cultural issue.
I don’t know that I would call Spanglish a language, but maybe I’m wrong. Read here what Professor Ilan Stavans, whom I consider an expert in the issue, has to say about it, though…
My father–que en paz descansa–was a stickler for the “correct” usage of both languages. I remember him compiling lists of the Spanglish words he would encounter either in the community around him or in the news, i.e. El Nuevo Herald, Univision. I remember it used to drive him crazy, but mainly, we just found it funny. I’m talking stuff like rainando=raining, roofo=roof, caperta=carpet, etc, etc.
As a journalist and a writer whose native language is Spanish, I just have a hard time accepting that my daughter would speak like that because it’s not how I was raised and the truth is that her family on either side would not understand her. I guess in the end, it’s a very personal issue…
I’m interested to hear what the experts say on this. It seems to me that it’s exactly the sort of thing that most kids do when they are learning any language, and eventually grow out of. When my four year old spanish-izes an English word, I guess I’ve always assumed that it just indicates a pretty good intuitive understanding of Spanish linguistics and grammar and that he’ll eventually stop. But after reading all of your comments, now I’m a bit worried that I’m underestimating the importance of this!
Old but still true… Please this article about Miami and the myth that we are a bilingual city.
Spanish-Speakers in Short Supply: Spanglish for not cut it in Latin America
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/1997/12/15/story1.html
Haha! She is is overgeneralizing, which is natural with little kids. When native English-speakers they start overgeneralizing in natural language development, right?-they start saying “I goed to the store”, etc. Some Spanish speaking kids start saying “yo sabo” , etc because they start overgeneralizing verb conjugation. When students are learning too languages there are cross-linguistic influences and kids start applying the rules that they are learning in one language to another.
Even if you were to correct her, she may not be developmentally at that stage where she can sort it all out. It’s natural. If she’s still talking like that when she is ten, then we have a problem. I once read a study by a linguist who was working with his own daughter who at approximately 3 years old was saying, “I goed to the store”. He kept correcting her and asking her to repeat back, “I went to the store”. She finally told him, “That’s what I saying-I goed to the store!”. Later she started to internalize some of the rules when she got older.
So many people think that code-switching and cross-linguistic influence is such a bad thing. Some people assume it means that they have lost the vocabulary in one language, but other say it’s natural in the early stages of language development as children are learning two language systems. What is a problem, as you mentioned, is the ability to maintain the Spanish when English becomes so much more appealing and dominating. Even students who are in bilingual homes and are enrolled in dual language programs where they have a significant amount of time in Spanish tend to still become very dominant in English.
Relax-just keep modeling correct usage and when she is older you can give her mini-lessons. Besides, people like Sandra Cisneros get paid tons of money to use language like that in their writing, jajaja!
.-= Multilingual Mania´s last blog ..Blue =-.
I love that you start out with “haha” and end with “jaja.” Perhaps we can coin a new Spanglish word… “haja” or perhaps “jaha”:)
Jaha, haja! I didn’t even notice that I did that.
.-= Multilingual Mania´s last blog ..Blue =-.
Roxana, it would be very helpful at some point if Spanglish Baby could do a little rearch on how to define what it means to be bilingual. I think it would help the discussion if we are speaking the same language (no pun intended!). I know it was helpful for me to learn the names of the methods (ie OPOL vs MLaH). There is also the whole discussion of sequential bilingualism vs simultaneous biligualism. It sounds like many of us are attempting to teach our children the simultaneous method… And I wonder if there are assumptions we should be aware of; especially if as the parent we might have acquired the second language sequentially.
Anyway, back to helping us define what it means to be bilingual. I did a little research and found the answer to be complex. I found this list and thought it might be interesting to put it out there:
What is bilingualism? Can we classify someone bilingual although he or she can only use a formulaic expression such as greetings? Or we have to follow the definition in the Collins Cobuild Dictionary which states the definition of bilingualism as the ability to speak two languages equally well. Bilingualism has generated a great deal of interest in recent years as the understanding of bilingualism is of great importance in education policy and political policy relating to language issues especially in bilingual or multilingual societies. Two general schools of thought are presently dominant: one is maximalist who views bilingualism as “native like control of two languages’ (Bloomfield 1933:55) and another is the minimalist who considers bilingualism as “the ability to use more than one language”(Mackey (1962:52). However, in reality, the degree of bilingualism is much more complicated and more difficult to define as this differs greatly from individual to individual and it is determined by many factors including age, socioeconomic and language background, and domain of language use and the level of exposure to both languages. In addition, not everyone becomes bilingual in the same way.
According to Chin and Wingglesworth (1991), there are five descriptors in relation to bilingualism:
1. Descriptors which refer to degree of bilingualism,
a. Balanced bilingual
For individuals who are fully competent in both languages.
b. Dominant bilingual
For individuals whose one language is more dominant than other.
c. Passive or Resesive Bilingual
For individuals who is gradually losing competence in one language, usually because of disuse.
d. Semilingual
For individulas whose level of proficiency in both languages are limited.
2. Descriptors which refer to the context of bilingual language acquisition,
3. Descriptors which refer to age of acquisition,
4. Descriptors which refer to the domain of use,
5. Descriptors which refer to and social orientation.
Definitely a complex and not definite answer to the question of what it means to be bilingual.
I’ve always thought that in order to describe yourself as bilingual or trilingual you need to be able to correctly read, write and speak the language so that those who dominate it can fully understand you. In other words, it’s not enough that you speak enough to get by, but that you wouldn’t be able to conduct a meeting (or an interview, in my case) with somebody who’s from South America and who’s native language is Spanish, let’s say.
In my case, for example, even though I’ve been complimented on my spoken French and I can read and write it at a basic level, I have a hard time describing myself as trilingual.
The main point, I think, is that there’s way too many variables involved in this definition and at the end of the day, who’s to say who is right and wrong.
Maybe one thing we need to remember is that raising bilingual children also has to do with our ability to be flexible…
Thanks for all your comments and for sharing your research. I will definitely follow up in future posts…
By the way, did you get the book you won?
Rox, I got the book and love it! Hence I’m already throwing around the terms I learned (ie sequential bilingualism
I’ll one last thing before I finally shut up… I’m sure you are all so tired of me by now. I think that it’s important to define to ourselves what we thunk it means to be bilingual and set goals and expections for the family. A minority language is a difficult thing to cultivate and grow. I was born and raised in te US and my parents taught me Spanish using ML@H; I cannot emphasize how strict they were about Spanish only at home. With no formal Spanish education until high school and college, I am not a balanced bilingual… I consider myself a one language dominate bilingual (I speak fluently, I read, and I write… Though I feel uncomfortable with technical Spanish). Though I wish my Spanish was like if a native speaker… My parent’s goal was for me to communicate with ease with my family in South America. I think they accomplished that. My point is, that the level of intensity of the minority language should take into consideration what the end goal is. If it is enough that the young bilingual in your family understand a story in Spanish then a passive bilingual route that is more laid back will work. If you want your child to be able to hold a minority language only conversation like I can- then a strict household will get you a one language dominate bilingual. In my case, I’m hoping that my son is a balanced bilingual and I know this will require not only strict rules at home but also a formal minority language education early on…. Though I’d settle for one language dominate bilingual, I won’t let him know that!
We’ve also got to take into account that there is a continuum of biliteracy, first and second language acquisition. Even so-called balanced bilinguals went through a developmental process/stages of biliteracy and commit a lot of errors with language due to developmental issues. Krashen calls this construct the natural order of learning language, and there are certain skills, etc that students acquire while other skills come later when students are developmentally ready. Students don’t even speak their native languages in a standard way when they are learning languages. Even within sequential and simultaneous bilingualism, students are going to use their background knowledge in one language and apply it to another when learning the two languages. It’s actually a brilliant, active way that students are using their problem solving abilities to construct language. I think they are little geniuses.
Now I’ll get my nose out of this conversation and get back to writing my guest post.
.-= Multilingual Mania´s last blog ..Blue =-.
Vanessa, at least you are still getting spanish–even if it is Spanglish. Yes, while painful to hear words like the ones your little one uttered, I’d almost much prefer it to no Spanish at all. My 6 year old has completely stopped speaking spanish. He is tri-lingual, but definitely stronger in English and Spanish, but just this summer no longer will communicate with me in Spanish. I think a lot of us face this. He fully understands, can read and write (and speak–but now refuses to). And yes, the “no entiendo” phrase works until they get old enough to realize that you do understand. My mom’s advice is to keep it up and don’t give up! I’ll do the same. Good luck with your little one.
I think this is a very interesting and important discussion. Ines, thanks for article link, it was a great informative read. Personally, I struggle with defining myself as “bilingual” and it has been particularly difficult in the corporate environment. My Spanish was fine enough to carry on casual conversations with customers, but fell short of being able to discuss “business” matters as my vocabulary didn’t extend that far. That is a result of learning Spanish informally at home. Does that mean I’m not bilingual?
To try and quantify what it means to be bilingual I think is highly problematic. Do you have to read and write in addition to speaking it? If so, how much? How formal? Do you have to be able to converse at a college level (as in business) or a high school level? Does it have to be at “X” percentage, etc. These are the things that become important issues because who gets to make these decisions and define what it is to be bilingual?
In addition, the differences in vernacular between various Latin cultures must also be considered. In other words, whose “Spanish” is the correct one?
Maria, I can totally relate to your post. I always think of myself as biligual until I am in a work situation and realize that perhaps I am not.
That’s why I liked learning about the different degrees of bilingualism…
I knew this post would generate a healthy debate and I want to thank all of you for that! This is obviously a topic that we will continue to explore in this blog as it is obvious it’s something we’re all struggling with in our path to raise our children bi or multilingual.
I appreciate everybody’s passion and I love that you all bring different views, experiences, knowledge about the topic.
I truly do not think there are any right or wrong answers. Part of me believes this is just part of my daughter’s learning process. The other part worries that she’ll end up speaking like that later on–something that I wouldn’t make me happy.
Please keep your comments coming. The idea has always been that we can all learn from each other
In my naive opinion and experience- a child who makes up their own words will out grow it- whether its an English word, Spanish or Spanglish. As long as the child is learning the correct Spanish and English they will eventually speak correctly and will only code switch deliberately. Kids make up words all the time- but if it isn’t reinforced or condoned they forget them and replace them w/ the correct word.
I think that the main, real “Spanglish” is the type that is spoken in the border areas like California or Florida where there is a major mixing of cultures and languages. My huband was born in Mexico and moved here when he was very young. His parents were born in Mexico and raised in Tijuana until they moved to CA when my husband was young. They speak Spanish- with major slang or “Spanglish” words like “troka” for truck, “Levi’s” for jeans, “Pampers” for diapers, etc. It is not that each person made up their own Spanglish but an overall adapting of the language to the 2 cultures. As someone who learned “proper” Spanish in school- I am always criticizing my husband with “that’s not a real word”- but its the word he and his family use and have used for generations. Even if he knows the right word- its just not always what he uses. Spanglish is dominant language indeed in parts of the country where authentic Spanish is being forgotten. I worked w/ predominantly Mexican and Salvadorean high schoolers and their familiies in East LA where people legitamitely have forgotten some Spanish words and replaced the w/ English or Spanglish words.
I personally do not consider myself bilingual because I can’t honestly wrie on a job application that I can speak, read, write in Spanish. But people are always saying that I am bilingual because I can understand and speak enough to get by, coomunicate, basically understand written material like newspapers, etc. But I can’t really express my feelings, read a book ,etc. I never thought about it as diffirent definitions- which makes a lot of sense.
I will have the very same problem in the future. My husband and I have a 1 year old son and we switch back and forth between Spanish and English. We know it will confuse Baby Boy Thomas but we want him to be able to communicate with his great grandparents.
P.S. See you at Blogalicious in Oct.
.-= Divina´s last blog ..Fiber One Yogurt Giveaway =-.
Great discussion and post. And since it’s late I only have a few words to say:
Don’t worry. It’s fine. It’s a natural developmental milestone. Ya sabes ques estas loca. Y si, you are overreacting. Keep speaking your perfect Spanish to her and she’ll figure out the correct words for each language situation.
Divina:
Don’t switch. Do OPOL and each parent stick to the one language 100%. You’ll be glad you did.
I know it’s very late, but I just had to chime in. I’m an elementary bilingual teacher, and it absolutely drives me LOCA when the kids use words like “me esquipió” for “he skipped me (in line), “parquear la troca” for park the truck, etc. My first year of teaching, I was attempting to teach the children the concept of palabras compuestas – compound words. I asked the students where one would put the dirty dishes, hoping they would respond with “lavamanos,” which is a compound word. A child very eagerly responded, “En el sinque!” I was crestfallen.
I realize that this is the language that is spoken in their Spanish-only homes, but it’s NOT Spanish. It’s some other language entirely. I have no problem with the children using those words, but I always repeat what they said with the proper word. For example, if they say, “me empuchó,” I’ll ask them, “¿te empujó?” That way I’m not criticizing their (or their parents’) language, but I’m reinforcing correct grammar.
Incidentally, I would treat “yo sabo” in the exact same way. Of course, as Ines and others have mentioned, mis-conjugations like that are not the same thing as making up new words that are “cognates” of English, like “fixear.” Children learning Spanish as a first language will make the “yo sabo” mistake. In fact, when I was in Argentina and learning Spanish, many people told me I sounded like a two-year-old when I would make some of those same grammatical errors. (That comment sounds a lot more devastating than it was — it was cute and not meant to be degrading in the least.)
So, like many others have said, the mis-conjugations and the made-up, English-sounding words are not the same thing, but both should be corrected in a respectful, loving way (IMO).
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