Oh no! My Child Has Caught Bilingualism!
A Parody on Our World's Fear of Language and Culture
What, your child has caught bilingualism!? No way! How could that happen? Ok, let's retrace your family's steps. Where has your child been? Have you been traveling? Maybe you caught it on the plane. You were living abroad? Oh no! Not that! That is one of the surest ways to catch bilingualism.
Don't panic!
Take solace in the fact that most of the world's population is bilingual. In fact, I heard that even in a country like the US, at least 1 in 5 people speak a language other than English.
I know, I know, it is hard to be part of a minority.
Let's look at the bright side of things: studies have shown that bilingual children actually have many advantages over monolinguals. Some studies have even suggested that bilinguals are smarter, can more easily deal with complex situations and concepts (which experts say could be helpful in today's fast-paced world) and being bilingual might even help a person maintain their quick thinking abilities when they get older.
Hmmm, of course, you can't trust every person who claims to be an expert and does some supposed research but maybe there is something to those studies?
Most importantly, we should be asking what kind of bilingualism has your child caught? You wouldn't want them to catch one of the more than 3,000 languages that are endangered or dying out, how traumatic. And you would hope that they caught a language that everybody likes rather than one with negative associations. Did you know that in some schools your child would get expelled if he speaks her second language in the hall!
She caught Chinese, you say? Hmmmm, I have been hearing this kind of bilingualism coming up more and more lately. It is amazing that it is becoming so contagious since it is such a difficult language to learn but I've been told is isn't as hard as Hungarian. I'm thinking it really might be turning into an epidemic!
I really don't know much about Chinese but I'm thinking that of all the languages to catch, it is probably not the worst. It is the most widely spoken language in the world, which also can't be so bad, right? In fact, did you know that it is the third most common language in Canada? How interesting!
What surprises me is how many children are catching bilingualism these days. I really think that if we aren't careful, they all might catch it. Gosh, that would totally change the world as we know it.
So, tell me again, where did your child pick up this bilingualism?
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BBFN Columnists |
• Multicultural Melange - Alice grew up in a bilingual/bicultural Korean-Austrian family. In this month's column, Alice shares her thoughts on raising her child trilingually.
• The Single Language Spouse - Get to know Colleen, the "single language spouse". She is married to a Russian and in this month's column shares her thoughts on raising a child bilingually when you don't speak the "other" language.
• Eurapsody - Meet Clo, an Italian native currently based in France with her Belgian partner and raising a quadrilingual child. In this month's column she helps us with finding a name for our future multilingual child.
• One Family One Language - Lilian and her husband live in the US but both are originally from Brazil. In her column, Lilian will share with us the joys and struggles of raising two boys bilingually with the minority-language-at-home approach.
• Between Grandparent and Grandchild - Corey's mother's tough questions contributed to this group actually coming into being! In this column she introduces herself to you through her experience of becoming a mother and the hopes for global understanding that came with it. |
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Stay Informed |
• News Around the World - Check out articles, essays and opinions about language, culture and identity around the world.
• Ages & Stages - Want to know if your child is just going through a stage or maybe prepare for the next step in your child's life?
• Tips & Advice - Check out "My Kid Speaks Better Than Yours!" and questions answered by Harriet.
• Once A Day! - Rev up your grey cells with today's tip, word, quote, wisdom, Did You Know? and activity!
• Humor & Fun - Read "Oh No, My Chil Caught Bilingualism!", test your American English vowel knowledge and learn how to bark like a dog in different languges. |
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Spotlights & Info |
• Marketplace Spotlights - check out this month's book review, Sponge School and Magellan's Toy Shop.
• Website Spotlights - Have you heard of "Talkin About Talk" and read Maya Lin's essay on being bicultural.
• What's New at BBFN? - Ask Harriet, Interviews with people of influence, share postcards with other bilingual/bicultural families, and check out Corey's blog.
• Look Who's Talking - Harriet's presentation is coming up at the end of March and Corey will offer a seminar at the end of April.
• Mailbag- Carol in Spain shares her thoughts about our February newsletter and contrasts our American Between Worlds essay with her experiences in Spain. |
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