tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post5118505765548107422..comments2023-04-21T15:19:04.905+08:00Comments on Being Multilingual: Sibling talkMadalena Cruz-Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-79498041741647645112011-03-13T17:32:32.098+08:002011-03-13T17:32:32.098+08:00My children’s adoption of a third language among t...My children’s adoption of a third language among themselves became clear roughly three years into their regular contact with it. English was a newcomer to my children, in that their schooling in it started at a later age than your children’s first contact with French, Jen. Given what Deborah reports about the shift towards one of her “old” languages in later sibling life, it will be really interesting to see what your little ones will come up with!<br />MadalenaMadalena Cruz-Ferreirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-76768107844549020342011-03-07T21:47:24.466+08:002011-03-07T21:47:24.466+08:00I like the way you describe becoming a trilingual ...I like the way you describe becoming a trilingual family as the children adopted their school language as their peer language. I've been fully expecting my children to do that, as it seems so to be a very common phenomenon. But so far they've stuck to English (which I speak to them, whereas their Papa speaks to them in German) among themselves. I'm not even entirely sure how well they speak French, as I almost never hear them use it. They are in French-speaking school/creche 3 -5 days a week and have been since they were babies (the older two are now 3 and 4 years old). Any ideas on why they might NOT use their school language as their peer language?Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10072014710803235038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-88135870691299359232011-03-06T17:53:53.959+08:002011-03-06T17:53:53.959+08:00Madalena: Your mention of language switches and mo...Madalena: Your mention of language switches and moods amongst your children is interesting. When my big sister and myself were still kids, if I recall correctly, we did switch between languages (Cantonese and English, with Cantonese being the more frequently- and extensively-used language between us then) in mood-related ways. The switch was not so much to indicate a change in mood or a specific mood though, but more to ‘get back on track’ or ‘normalise’ things after a change in mood. It’s like if we ‘irritated’ each other, in typical sibling fashion, in one language, and we both were in a mood of ‘irritation’, when one of us decided to ‘clear’ the air, it would usually be with a language different from the language in which the mutual ‘irritation’ occurred. Or if one of us had a joke (from school, about friends, etc.) to tell, and when the telling ended and the laughter died down, the conversation would usually begin with a language different from the language in which the joke was told. I must admit that I have little way of verifying, between me and my big sister, what I now recall from memory, partly because we’re no longer children, and as such, ‘irritate’ each other less :) (we still crack jokes to each other, thankfully), and mostly because at some point in our growing-up years, English (gradually) came to dominate our sibling talk, with the occasional lexical mix, of course, from Cantonese and other languages that we know. Our shift towards more monolingually(?)/less multilingually(?) English-dominant sibling talk also means that it’s now hard to observe that kind of distinct language switches in mood-related ways that I seem to recall from our childhood. <br /><br /> <br /><br />DeborahDeborah Chuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02911786996482749777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-64072149411600329382011-02-27T14:32:50.292+08:002011-02-27T14:32:50.292+08:00Deborah: Oh yes, they all learned very quickly to ...Deborah: Oh yes, they all learned very quickly to serve as they were being served! <br /><br />Jonas: I know a little about language uses between twins, but nothing at all about triplets. Tell us a bit about your own sibling talk, please? Or you, Melissa Sue, about your girls. Aside from what they may have created to talk to each other, they seem intent on learning a new language, baby-brother-speak!<br /><br />One thing I found really interesting when I first observed it in my children was their use of language switches themselves (regardless of languages) to convey specific moods or changes in mood. Any of you can relate to this? <br /><br />Many thanks for your kind words about the posts!!<br />MadalenaMadalena Cruz-Ferreirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14782492322928803326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-65660952555912505742011-02-26T08:53:55.662+08:002011-02-26T08:53:55.662+08:00I have not been able to convienc my daughters (6 y...I have not been able to convienc my daughters (6 year old twins) that their baby brother is not speaking some other language that -we- have to learn in order to speak to him. They are convienced and constantly trying to match his bables to things around him to find out what they mean.Meximelihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06230546115526840881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-83555390966545012902011-02-25T22:43:07.730+08:002011-02-25T22:43:07.730+08:00I love your posts :-) I have two tripletsbrothers ...I love your posts :-) I have two tripletsbrothers and my baby brother is like 5 minutes younger then me and vice versa <br />with my big brother.Jonashttp://www.vittleende.senoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1132547320196715283.post-28146552516012816722011-02-25T19:23:19.650+08:002011-02-25T19:23:19.650+08:00I like this post :) I imagine that the baby sister...I like this post :) I imagine that the baby sister, when able to do so, would also challenge the natural pecking order in particular situations, by using the same deep, resounding tones, in the language her big sister assigns to the purposes of these tones, to the big sister herself? Such situations might occur, for example, when the possession of a new toy (supply of only one in a favourite colour) is at stake?<br /><br />DeborahDeborah Chuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02911786996482749777noreply@blogger.com