Meli-melo

It is really funny when E.V. mixes up her languages.  One of the main things I remember from conversations with my aunt, a specialist on bilingual children - check out her book "The bilingual family: a handbook for parents", is that children are lazy. They will find the easiest way to be understood and stick with it. Which is why speaking to them with real words and not baby talk is so key. This is illustrated daily with E.V. in her choices of words.  She will often demonstrate that she knows the meaning of both the French and English words for an object, but will pick the one that is the easiest to pronounce.  So far, so good, it makes sense and it is pretty understandable. Where it becomes interesting is when she mixes things up, ending up in a "meli-melo" of both languages.  This can take two forms:

• The mix of French and English within an expression or a category of words.  For example, when she counts out she says "un, deu, tree". And when she labels her body parts, it's all mixed up! Eye and No (for nose) but then Bou for bouche (the mouth). And then "boob" for her belly button :). She's definitively confused on that one and refuses both "Belly button" and "nombril", sticking to that word I shouldn't have taught her :)

• The mix of the languages within one word or 'language mashups' if you want. The only true clear example of this that E.V. does is "walo". I love it! It's such a smart combination of "water" and "l'eau".  Much easier to pronounce than the two original words too.  She also used to say "tat" for hat, which I could have been a mix of "hat", "head", and "tete" (French for head), but I am not entirely sure, and in any case, that phase is gone, she knows asks clearly for her "HA" when it's time to go "Side".

It can be so frustrating sometimes. You repeat a word over and over again and she does not seem to get it, and then suddenly she'll blurt it out when you aren't expecting it anymore or she surprises you with a new "EVism" like Walo.  Oh I know, I'm not about to be done with her surprises!

Comments

[Henry]

[ciò è buono]

She is so brilliant! What an exceptional and beautiful child you have. You must be very proud of her . . .I know I am.

Her Grandpere