My Baby Words

I’ve always been a sucker for old photographs, letters, diaries, lists — anything that will somehow give me an insight into my and my family’s past. My parents were pretty good about saving stuff like that in an old wooden trunk which has seen better days and is currently in my sister’s possesion.

So I was absolutely ecstatic when just a few days ago my mom handed me a small brown envelope with something I’d never seen before — or maybe I had a long time ago, but I’d never really paid attention to until now. As any good mother would do, she used to keep a running list of the things I used to say (and understand) when I first started speaking. (In fact, she’s such a good mother that she’s done the same for both my children, since apparently I lack in this arena, ja! Thank God for good mom’s, no?).

The list is full of typical baby words such as agua, mamá, papá, toma, dame, etc. But what I found most interesting was the list also includes a series of phrases/commands I understood in English by the time I was 20 months old. Wait. They spoke to me in English? What?

I’d always known my parents were bilingual. In fact, when we were real little, they used to speak English to each other when they didn’t want us to understand what they were saying. Of course, as we got a bit older, and became bilingual our selves, their little game no longer worked!

I’d also always thought I started learning English when I went to preschool, but apparently I was wrong. According to my mom, my dad liked speaking English to me, just like he’d done with my older sister who was born in Miami and was exposed to the language until they moved back to Peru when she was 9 months.

How awesome is that? And how awesome is it that my mom actually kept all the word lists? (¡Gracias, mami! ).

Now it’s your turn, how old were you when you became bilingual? Or, do you know when a second language was introduced in your life? Please share with us, we’d love to know!

Photo credit: tajai

The other night, my husband and I were having a pretty “heated” discussion about the right Spanish word for earring. Pretty lame, huh? But I’ve always had a fascination with words – it’s not for nothing that I chose journalism as a career path – in both English and Spanish. Anyhow, for my husband, who hails from Puerto Rico, an earring is una pantalla. To me, una pantalla means a screen or lampshade. So there we were right before bedtime going back and forth about who was right (me) and who was wrong (him). Until finally, he took out his iPhone, clicked on the dictionary app from the Real Academia Española, and proved me wrong. (If you’d like to see the definition of the word pantalla, go here.)

The main thing to point out here, though, is that according to RAE’s definition, only Puerto Ricans use this word for earring. Everyone else uses arete. (What word do you use?). I only mention this because when speaking to our daughter, Vanessa, my husband always prefaces certain words by saying its popular name and then emphasizing that it’s also called something else, but only in Perú.

For example:

- Vanessa, ¿quieres batata? (sweet potato)

- ¿Qué es batata?

- Batata es lo mismo que camote, solo que el único país en el mundo donde se le dice camote es en el Perú.

As you might remember, this is not the first time I write about our amazingly varied vocabulary in which one word can have several meanings or one object can have several names, depending on the country, and many times, even the region within just one country. Not to mention how some words, meaningless to some, can be actual insults or vulgaridades to others. Take, for example, the word papaya. To me—and to most of you out there—it’s just the word for a delicious tropical fruit which I could eat every single day. But brace yourself if you something like this to a Cuban: “Me acabo de comer tremenda papaya!” because you’d actually be saying something nasty about a female’s genitals using a pretty dirty word. ¡Qué locura! Some of this nuances, I actually learned the hard way while living more than 20 years in Miami where you can find people who hail from all over Latin America.

Recently, my husband and I attended an award ceremony, and sitting at our table there were people from various Spanish-speaking countries, including Colombia, México, Spain, Puerto Rico and Perú. For some unknown reason, the conversation turned to hair (which, by the way, is pelo for lots of us, but for others only the word cabello should be used) and I said to one of the woman at the table, “me gusta como te queda tu cerquillo“, and a whole discussion ensued about what each one of us calls bangs.

Check out what they are (and try to guess which country they hail from or add your own if it’s missing):

bangs=cerquillo, copete, flequillo, pollina, fleco, chapul, china

And, just for fun, here’s a few more objects which can be called a lot of different ways:

lollipop=chupete, chupetín, paleta

cake=torta, queque, pastel, bizcocho

bottle=biberón, botella, mamadera

pacifier=chupón, chupete, tete, chupo, bobo

Next time, I promise I’ll write something about all the different names we have for fruits, vegetables and food in general. A translator friend of mine tells me there’s nothing more difficult to translate into Spanish than recipes. I promise to pick her brain and come back with a fun list. In the meantime, feel free to leave some suggestions!

Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography

Our Week of Mamás Blogueras continues with a post from Jennifer Manriquez,  a.k.a Maestra Jen from Bilingual Fun, who’s raising two young bilingual children in Michigan. A former classroom teacher, Jennifer is now an entrepreneur heading The Bilingual Fun Company-a language education business which teaches Spanish to parents and children ages 18 months to 12 years old.

If you are trying to incorporate Spanish learning into your child’s everyday life, you may be like me, always seeking new creative activities to spice up their learning.  Teaching both my own children and the many children in our language program, Bilingual Fun, continually makes me aware of their incredible ability to absorb and retain languages.

I love to teach children Spanish through games, movement and everyday activities. Creating fun, easy Spanish lessons for kids, not only enriches their development, but keeps the language learning alive.

Some quick, easy ideas for teaching children Spanish and reinforcing everyday vocabulary:

1. Playing Memory is a great activity for vocabulary development and reinforcement as well as an opportunity to present different grammatical structures. Ask  “¿dónde está….? Or, ¿qué es? as you look for the specific picture. Ask children to repeat the word in Spanish each time you say it. Be sure to reinforce pictures after each game. Remember, repetition is one of the keys to language learning success!

2. Incorporate outside play in your Spanish lessons for kids. Practice kicking the soccer ball and counting the goals in Spanish. Jump rope and count in Spanish. Play hopscotch in Spanish.  Draw with chalk on the driveway and reinforce colors and common vocabulary by playing Pictionary.

3. Blow bubbles and reinforce ‘arriba/abajo’.  Play games such as “Mother May I” and incorporate the numbers and ‘rápido/lento’ or ‘ Red Light/Green Light” for color practice.

4.  Make faces in the mirror. Give your kids the Spanish word for a specific emotion, and they have to make that face in the mirror such as: enojado (mad), triste (sad) or feliz (happy), etc. When kids can see themselves as they hear or say the word, it helps to make a language connection.

5.  Count items in the kitchen. Since it seems that most days we find ourselves in the kitchen, either eating, preparing meals, cleaning up after meals, etc, I like to use this setting as a realistic teaching tool. We count our snack pieces, silverware and plates as we unload the dishwasher, magnets on the fridge, etc. You can keep little ones occupied as you prepare dinner, just keep them counting!

6. Play I Spy around the house or in the car. This is a favorite activity and can keep kids communicating using many different words and expressions such as colors, adjectives, prepositions and more.

7.  Play guessing games. When packing my daughter’s lunch, we play ‘¿qué hay en la caja?’ and she has to guess what I packed her for lunch.

8. Play Simón Dice/Simon Says. Point to the different body parts. Use the command “ tócate…. la nariz“, etc. Reverse roles and have kids give you commands so that they can practice producing the language.

9. Create rhythmic beats.  Clap and count as you create different beats. Have children imitate you, and then they teach you a new beat. Ex; uno, dos, uno, dos, uno, dos, tres, cuatro, uno, dos, uno, dos…..

10.  Dance Party Fiesta. Play upbeat Spanish music. Stop the music and freeze. Have count in variations (frontwards, backwards, by 2s, or 1-10).

When teaching young children anything, whether it is language or math skills, keeping things fun is important to help foster their interest. Play based teaching is a great way to make learning Spanish easy for kids.

By teaching kids Spanish through activities that are relevant to their lives, you are giving your children a great head start in their bilingual development!

Now it’s your turn. What are some fun activities and games you use to reinforce Spanish at home?

Our Week of Mamás Blogueras continues tomorrow with an inspiring post by Violeta García-Mendoza from Multi-Culti Mami and Turn People Purple. She shares with us her amazing story of how, along with her husband, they strengthen their three adoptive children’s Guatemalan heritage and identity.  Click here to read it.

First in an occasional series…

Since we all have different stories to tell and our own ways of raising our kids bilingual, from time to time, we will invite a guest to contribute to SpanglishBaby. Today, we introduce you to the first one. We hope you enjoy it!

The following is a guest post written by Karen:  Spanish learner, mother of two boys and blogger at Teaching and Learning Spanish.

I have to admit that it is difficult to teach Spanish when it’s not your native language, but it is doable. It takes more effort, but the rewards are worth it. Fortunately, I am knowledgeable in the language since I have a BA in Spanish, but I earned that degree back in 1993. After graduation, I didn’t really use the language, but then started studying on my own about five years ago because I wanted to teach it to my two boys, who are now six and nine.

I have discovered that I take a very informal approach when it comes to teaching Spanish to my children. I try to use it on a daily basis and in context. For example, when my younger son is setting the table, we talk about what everyone will need and what we’re eating that evening. I do all of this in Spanish and he responds either through his actions or by words–one word here or there, but he definitely comprehends what I am saying.  Another example is when they get in the car after school, I ask them about their day in Spanish. So, overall they get a good dose of the language every day.

Read: How Can a Non-Native Help Her Child Become Bilingual?

Also, we listen to podcasts together such as Cody’s Cuentos and some of the podcasts (newbie, elementary levels) from SpanishPod.  My older son really seems to enjoy those. After we listen to them, I try to use some of the key vocabulary we learned to help them remember the new words. I also try to incorporate technology in their learning of the language. For instance, my younger son has started doing the activities on Foreign Language Friends. This program has definitely peaked his interest in the language.

In the car, in addition to podcasts, we like to listen to the Professor Pocket CDs and when I say “we” I really mean “we.” I can honestly say I enjoy listening to these CDs with the boys. We also listen to music by Jarabe de Palo, Maná, and others Spanish-speaking bands.

Read: I am not fluent in my child’s second language

Again, it really takes quite a bit of effort on my part to do this. There are times when I get frustrated like when I can’t remember a word or phrase. I try not to let that bother me too much, though. In the end, the fact that they are getting exposure to a different language is what is most important.

Read: Advice for Non-Native Speakers Teaching Their Kids Spanish?

Are you learning Spanish to teach it to your children? We invite you to share your story and tips with us.

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{Photo by Photo by mikecogh}

Photo by me

Last year, after my daughter Vanessa turned two, I enrolled her in a Parent’s Day Out (PDO) program at our local church. She goes once a week for 4 hours and seems to get a kick out of it. During orientation, we made sure her teachers were aware that, up to that point in her life, she had been exposed only to Spanish with very few exceptions here and there–we live in Colorado, after all. The first day of the program, again I reminded her teachers that although she probably would understand their instructions because of their simplicity, she only knew to communicate in Spanish. They told me not to worry, that everything would be fine. But like any “normal” mother, worry I did. A lot. I mean, I knew nothing bad would happen, but I wondered how in the world she would communicate her needs to her two teachers…

When I went to pick her up after that first day, I was relieved to find her smiling, wanting to tell me all about her day. I approached one of her teachers and asked how she had done. I was told she was an angel, but a very quiet angel. “She didn’t say a word,” Ms. P told me. I was fine with that because I knew from her demeanor that she’d had a good day. However, I wished her teachers spoke Spanish so they could be as amazed as I was at her extensive vocabulary–in Spanish. At 25 months, Vanessa said a lot more words–and I mean a lot–than most kids her age. In the end, I guess I just continued worrying about her ability to be understood.

As time went by, I noticed that she had picked up a few phrases in English–even though she only attends the PDO program four hours a week. She’d come home and say things like “he ya go,” “am soyee” and “am okay.” The crazy thing was that she would say these phrases at the appropriate times. When handing me a toy, throwing her cup or after tripping and almost falling, for example. My husband and I found it amusing, but more than anything, amazing to realize that she understood the actual meaning of each phrase. My worries about her abilities to communicate with her teachers started to dissipate, albeit just a bit. On occasion, I would still ask her teachers how she was getting along in respect to the language and they would say: “She doesn’t say much, but she seems to understand everything we tell her.”

Photo by sknaB noIA

So on we went, until one day recently, a crazy thing happened. A crazy thing–that I still can’t believe–happened! Check it out:

It was kind of late–which translates to: I was very tired–and we were finishing having dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant. Vanessa was sitting in her high chair playing with some fortune cookies, minding her own business. My husband paid the bill and for some unknown reason gave me the pen the waitress had brought for him to sign the check. Without really thinking too much about it, I said to him: “That’s not mine.” In English. Just like that. Vanessa looked at me and said: “Mami, ¿eso no e tuyo“? To which I responded, completely oblivious to what had just happened: “No, Vane, eso no es mio.” Immediately after both my husband’s and my jaw dropped to the floor. What had just happened? Had she translated my sentence word-by-word? Yes, she had!

When did she start doing this? How did this happen? How did she know? Who told her? So many questions, none of which could be answered. Maybe it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but to us, it was a HUGE deal. For us, it meant that Vanessa is really on her way to being bilingual, that she gets it and maybe it also means that we’ve been doing the right thing! It’s nice to get some reassurance once in a while, don’t you think?

I still smile when I think about it! I’m sure she probably thought I was crazy to make such a big deal out of it, but I believe in celebrating her each and every chance I get

Have your kids done things like this that make you feel you’re right on track? Do you have a story of a small triumph like this one you can share with the rest of us?

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