Happy birthday, Fiona!

We're doing the One Parent One Language method. So I only speak to him in English, and SO only speaks to him in German. That way, he doesn't have to chose the language, it's automatic depending on who he's talking to. It's the method with the least room for confusion. For him, anyway.

I'm curious, does that break down when you speak to your SO in front of him? Or do you speak to your SO in English, and your SO replies in German, so that it's not a confusion?

All european parents talk to each other in French, don't they? There's a reason that "pas devant les enfants" was the first foreign phrase I learned...

Gus, thank you! It's no rush - I think I've noticed it when I got ack, in September or so, and only now remembered to e-mail about it, so you can see how urgent it is.

We're doing the One Parent One Language method

That's the only one I've seen working. Many parents here try to speak English to their children, on top on Hebrew (even if it's not their mother tongue, sometimes even when their English has mistakes that even I can notice, but that's not the point), since they believe it will give them some sort of advantage, and I haven't seen it working in any other way.

[Edit: Am-Chau! Long time no post together! How is school?

There's a reason that "pas devant les enfants" was the first foreign phrase I learned...

Snerk.]

Nilly! Good to see you! School is making me very busy, as you might expect. I'm doing a lot better health-wise, which helps, through not quite well enough to do everything I'd like to, which again is probably as you'd expect. How are you these days?

Thanks, Gus and Am-Chau!

I'm curious, does that break down when you speak to your SO in front of him? Or do you speak to your SO in English, and your SO replies in German, so that it's not a confusion?

My SO and I speak to each other in German. B. can deal. I was brought up bilingually too, and it was perfectly logical to me - I spoke German to my mum, and we both spoke English to my dad. I was 5 or 6 before I was conciously aware that most kids spoke the same language to both parents. I can still remember the moment when I realised this.

All european parents talk to each other in French, don't they?

My parents did this and it drove me bananas. They also started talking French in B's presence, but I told them not to - the advantage of finally being the parent! My French is crap and SO doesn't speak any, so it was never an issue for us. We have to do the "discuss it when he's in bed" method.

My SO and I speak to each other in German. B. can deal.

Right. That makes sense-- thanks for indulging my curiosity!

All european parents talk to each other in French, don't they?

I'm glad to say mine don't-- though recently I was told that Britian isn't part of Europe, so that may be the reason. They did resort to using very long words at times, which has given me an extensive vocabulary over the years. Especially for things like "hair washing" and "food" which my parents sometimes felt the need to (attempt to) discuss without the children understanding.

I'm doing a lot better health-wise

That's good to read.

not quite well enough to do everything I'd like to, which again is probably as you'd expect

There is never enough of anything, to be able to do as much as we would like to, is there?

I can still remember the moment when I realised this.

Oh, do you? Can you tell about it?

I still remember the first word I read in English. We learned some of the letters, and I knew already nearly all of them, but no words yet. It was a Saturday afternoon, I remember exactly where I was sitting at my parents' old apartment, on which couch, and I had a newspaper in my lap. One of the advertisements had a picture of a bottle of some sort of body-oil, and even though it was all in Hebrew, the bottle had some words on it in English. I recognized the "B", then the "a" and suddenly I realized I was reading the word "baby", the letters just ordered themselves in a word I already heard before, and now suddenly could read. It was magic.

We have to do the "discuss it when he's in bed" method.

The father of the family I stayed with in NYC during shabbat is a linguist, and he knows a double-digits number of languages (when he told me I pronounced my English well, it was a huge compliment. Also, of course, he insisted talking Hebrew to me, which created the strange situation of me answering in English to Hebrew, so that the other people in the house could follow). Anyway, when his eldest daughter was young, he taught his wife Swahili, so that they'd have a language to talk in front of the girl without her understanding. However, the languages talent runs in the family, so they had to abandon that method when the daughter started answering them in Swahili. They resorted to Fiona's method by then.

[Edited because I can't spell. In each post I brag about my English, I'm bound to have mistakes in it]

Happy Birthday Fiona!

Nilly, I was amazed by your beautiful English speaking. Though, I'm not sure why, since you write English beautifully. I guess I expected you to speak more accented English.

Happy Birthday, Fiona!

Oh, thank you, Sue.

Allyson said that I talked faster in English after being a couple of days in the USA. She even mocked me for speaking fast while describing how very fast other people talked in English. I didn't feel the difference because, well, it was me, but I definitely take her word for it.