On being bilingual

It's always a question we get asked as my wee man's daddy is Italian "Is he bilingual?" and for a long time it's been a hard question to answer. When the wee man really got going with his speech Italian was never at the forefront. It was obvious he understood what his daddy was saying to him as he clearly followed instructions that were asked of him. Well when he chose to listen anyway. 

Then eventually we were getting one or two words as he was reading his Italian books. It was never a common occurrence though and never really in general conversation. I would occasionally get him to say a word in Italian for me and we knew he could count to ten in both languages.

Then this summer while in Italy something seemed to just click. He kept asking his Nonna what she was doing and I said to him he had to ask her in Italian and he did. Then he was really copying what everyone was saying to him and repeating it back. Then he was saying sentences on his own in the right context. Not just a word but words strung together. Finally he was speaking to his Nonni and daddy in Italian and would turn around and tell me the same thing in English.

To say I am pleased and proud is possibly a slight understatement. Now we are back in Glasgow thankfully he continues to speak to his daddy in Italian. It's quite funny as his daddy is the only person he speaks Italian to unless on skype with his Nonni. We are really hoping that it continues and hopefully I can find new ways to immerse him in the Italian language. 

C is for Cucu

The wee man has set Italian words for certain things, and hide and seek and peek a boo is one of them.   When he saw this maze he could run through, for him it was playing a game of "cucu", try and catch me if you can!

Words

You wait and wait for the first word and then suddenly it happens. As a parent it is a very proud moment, a biggy development wise. Another sign that everything is going to be okay and maybe I am not that bad a parent.  I remember when I could tell people in conversation what words the wee man was saying. He would have the longest conversation with you but you could only clearly make out one word if you were lucky. What was he on about?

Now everyday he is coming out with new words, stringing words together into proper sentences. I just can't help but wonder where it is coming from. I think it is the way they just come out as well at the appropriate times. After changing his nappy he ran to his daddy and shouted "Ecco lo qua". He has always said moon and then while walking home from nursery looking at the sunset he said "Sun...sun in sky". We arrive safely home in the car just yesterday and he claps his hands and shouts "Arrivati".

Of course you have to be very careful what you say now as he appears to understand everything! He is very good at picking up our favourite expressions. He is now saying "Oh dear" about everything just like his grandad. He comes out with these big sighs sometimes and unfortunately he probably gets that from his mother. He is choosing to say certain words and expressions in Italian but he definitely understands when I say them in English. It's all happening so quickly I am not sure how to keep up!

Watching your child develop is just crazy beautiful!

Is he bilingual?

With my wee man's papà being Italian it's a question I get quite frequently - Is he bilingual? The answer at the moment I'm afraid is that I really don't know. We have got lots of conversation going on at the minute. I mean he is constantly chatting when looking at his books, playing with his toys, out and about, pointing at things, looking at us but we don't have that many words. We have a meagre list at the moment of mamà (he happens to call most people that by the way...hmph!), hiya, ta, ta ta, wow, yesssss.  He is also good at some animal noises and definitely knows that the cow goes moo, the duck goes AA and the tiger, lions and bears go raaar. He does a great elephant impression which I'm afraid I just can't put into words for you. 

I'll be honest in that I have not read up much about babies and language and communication. I try to keep him stimulated and read lots of books and just hope for the best really. I have heard that babies who have to work around two languages do speak later (and considering he has to cope with the Glaswegian accent as well) maybe that is what we are seeing here. I know that each parent should speak in their own mother tongue and we do that so he hears only Italian from his papà. He has got lots of books in Italian and Italian toys as well. Then he speaks a lot to his nonni on Skype and they don't really do English. 

That is where it really becomes important to us, this bilingualism, he has so much family in Italy that it would be great if he could talk to them and they could understand him. The fear is that he may understand but not be as able to speak it. I'm afraid though we can only really wait and see. This is a story yet to unfold.