Our Bilingual Journey: Continued

This is a language update post, I wrote about Adelaide's talking in December (here and here).

By now Adelaide is speaking a lot, and I'm loving it.. It's so great - being able to communicate! Verbally. She basically doesn't have tantrums (only for a serious reason, if she really wants/doesn't want something and there is no way around it - for example, when a toy, that she really, really liked playing with is taken away or when we have to leave a place and she really, really wants to stay and play), and I think it's a lot due to her being able to express herself. (Also, of course, due to Attachment Parenting.)

Adelaide has hundreds and hundreds of words, I would love to count them, but who has the time.. She knows about all the daily foods we eat. And most of the animals in her books. Most of the things we see outside. People's names, who we meet.. And so much more.
And all that in both languages - Latvian and Estonian. She doesn't yet use Latvian with me and Estonian with Mr. Husband, she just says what she knows or is thinking at the moment, and it changes. However, I think, when we are reading her books, she will now say the animal more likely in Latvian to me.. At least she is starting to. And if she says something in Estonian and I ask a question in Latvian about it, she will very likely respond in Latvian.

I felt already that she is talking more Estonian than Latvian, perhaps it's true.. Estonian is her majority language, as all of the people we meet etc speak Estonian. Latvian will be the minority language, but if we have more alone time at home, it's catching up too, and I'm really excitedly waiting when we visit Latvia again finally (last time were there in September, I don't like long drives in the end of the pregnancy, and no reason really to go right now while Jasmiina is still so young.. But soon)!

Adelaide says 4 word sentences, which is even not that rare, and 3 word sentences are a usual thing. I haven't yet noticed 5 word sentences. She has said, for example: Mom is putting blanket on! (Emme teeb tekki peale..) Where is the other sock? (Kus on teine sokk? Kur ir otra zeķe?) etc.

It's so interesting to hear, how her grammar is developing! She says many words already totally grammatically correct, for example - in plural.. Sometimes she is making the plural up herself, and it's wrong, but there is a logic behind it always - she makes it up similar as some other words have - but when I correct her (just repeat the same thing, but correctly), she immediately is repeating it in the correct way.

I have heard people saying that Estonian is an easy language for a child to learn, and I wasn't sure, but now I sometimes think, that maybe it's true.. Estonian words are often short and easy to spell, there are few long and difficult words. A different story in Latvian.

Adelaide is saying her own name:  Ade-dededededede-de! :) Sometimes it comes out reeeeeaally long. :D "Jasmiina", however, she says perfectly. And she is referring to herself as "you", which I guess is typical, "me" comes later. She says: you want to drink (it means she wants to drink..) etc.

This is so exciting - because it's fun to talk with her. :) In the evenings she takes an hour (at least) lately to fall asleep, she is telling us all about her day.. And even some older memories, whatever is on her mind.

Comparing to the average norms, Adelaide is speaking a lot for her age (20 full months in 2 days). Of course, a big part of it is genetics or something that we can't influence and can't take credit for (and we are thankful for) But what we can take credit for and that has been proven to help the language development, is - no screen time, no battery operated toys, especially ones with sounds, but not only (it's proven, that passive toys, that don't do stuff, when you just push the button, are better for the language, as parents tend to speak more, when playing with those), books - even better. Also just talking as much as possible about everything and always, but - not too much! Turns out, as I also read somewhere, talking all the time, really never shutting up, is also bad, as the child doesn't have time to hear his own thoughts, to take time to respond.. Silence is golden too. Which was great to find out, because sometime I used to feel guilty, that I'm not talking with my children all-the-time. Hm, turns out it's perfectly fine, as I still do talk quite much.

I have read also, that the language develops better in firstborn children. Because it's not the interaction with siblings or other children (also in kindergarten) that matters, the most important is still one-on-one interaction with an adult. And second children tend to get it less. I'm seeing this already with Jasmiina.. Being the second-born has it's benefits and it's flaws. She has Adelaide to entertain her (yay for me), but it does seem, that she gets less one-on-one from us, parents. Simply due to lack of time, more busier life. With only one baby you have all the time in the world to look into their eyes and talk.. Different story with the second. But hopefully Jasmiina will be fine as well. :)




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