Language Barriers

What a great weekend this turned out to be. We had all the kids around for a Star Wars themed birthday party for a 6-year-old and a 29-year-old. I'm not sure who can quote more lines from the movies. However, I think the 6-year-old has the Star Wars theme song running through his head as a sound track at all times. Anything that looks like a light-saber becomes one..broom handle, golf club, cooking spoon.
The party is a different blog however.

Sometime in the past couple of months my 2-year-old granddaughter has learned to talk..a lot. And she is very persuasive. If she wants something, instead of pointing, she now verbalizes her version of the object. Short words are easy to understand; shooes..joose...mine, funny how mine sounds the same from a 2-year-olds as a 55-year-old.
So how does she do this? Think about the fact that a 2-year-old is learning a fairly complicated language. She is putting sentences together and completing thoughts, sharing joy and frustration. She is developing her own take on the language starting from nowhere. She has no language to translate, no interpretation, simply the assimilation of ideas and objects into her own mental process.
I have always wanted to learn Spanish, I've got a few words and phrases down, but nothing like her. So what is the difference?
Well, obviously the immersion into the culture has a lot to do with it. She is surrounded everyday with the language, and judging from her brother, her mother, and her father she is surrounded with A LOT of the language. So she will have to learn it, just to keep up. But I don't think this is the real reason.
The real reason is that she is uninhibited in using the language. Her mother delights, not only in the proper use, but hugs her and laughs with her over her misuse. Phoebe simply beams when you visit with her. So she has no downside to using the language. She is supported either way.
Of course the other thing that helps is that she is not exactly a poker-face. You can read what's going on in her head and she doesn't mind sharing her take on any given situation. It is hilarious to watch those little eyebrows knit together as she attempts to communicate her displeasure. No hidden agendas, you get what is going on there.

We have found that our in-law kids have changed our language, just as our kids did when they were little, now all I have to do is learn it as well.

But it is all...esta bien.

Godspeed
Don