Are you or your kids Bilingual?. If yes in what language?

[Dancing Fire]

don't wanna hijack the other thread...

Congrats to @voce and @JPie for teaching your kids to speak Chinese. My two daughters used to understand village Cantonese when their grandparents was babysitting them but since they passed away they have forgotten the language... . I can speak two different dialects in Cantonese but can't read or write Chinese....

 

[maryjane04]

I don't have kids yet, but can speak/read Vietnamese. My siblings can as well. I guess if you don't use it you lose it. My hubby is older than me but his Vietnamese is shocking, like infant level so his parents didn't teach him very well.

 

[jaysonsmom]

I'm fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese and English. Definitely consider myself Chinese/English Bilingual. I consider English my first language, since I have difficulty writing Chinese characters from recall nowadays, mainly from lack of use. I can also read and comprehend other languages, such as German, Spanish, but do not consider myself fluent.

I only studied Chinese for 3 years of my life (middle school) when we moved back to Taiwan. The rest of my life was spent abroad, where all the schools were English based. However, parents made it mandatory to speak either Mandarin or Taiwanese at home, and due to the nature of my dad's job, I speak proper Mandarin, and we either had Chinese tutors or went to weekend Chinese schools while we were abroad (to maintain our middle school level Chinese).

My husband is Korean-American, but doesn't speak Korean at all, so my kids both chose Chinese as a second language in High School. They don't really speak it that well, because English is spoken primarily at home. However, they can can pick out phrases here and there when my parents are visiting, and we try to use our "secret language". I think their written Chinese (simplified Characters), is probably better than their spoken Chinese because the curriculum they are teaching in their High School is Mandarin from mainland China.

 

[kenny]

Yes, Bibi speaks in English and some weird birdie mumbling dialect and Bolivian screams.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Older son but only to the degree he has learned French in school. He has had such a miserable experience with a new French teacher (who teaches high school as well as 8th grade currently) that he is taking Spanish next year.

I can speak enough Spanish to ask for a beer and where the bathroom is

 

[winetime12]

We all are fluent in French and English

 

[Matata]

One of my stepsons speaks Japanese and the other speaks French. I used to be fluent in German and pretty good in Italian, passable in Spanish and Russian and embarrassing in French but no one I in my social circle speaks any of those and I'm rusty in everything but English.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

One of my stepsons speaks Japanese and the other speaks French. I used to be fluent in German and pretty good in Italian, passable in Spanish and Russian and embarrassing in French but no one I in my social circle speaks any of those and I'm rusty in everything but English.

Im rusty in English
And its my only language !

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Good on everyone making an effort and speaking a 2nd or 3rd language
Well done

The rest of us suck


But i love watching foreign moves on netflex (with subtitles)

 

[GreenPapaya]

I am so envious of bilingual kids! My kids can understand a little Khmer and French but they mainly communicate in English. I tried so hard to only speak Khmer to them at home but they barely understand it and have no interest in speaking it. My daughter took 6 years of French and barely knows it. And she's French! Her grandparents don't speak English. My son took 4 years of Arabic, a year of Spanish and French and is currently studying Mandarin and he barely knows a few words in any of the languages. In fact he's barely fluent in English and have an IEP for speech and processing disorders.

To answer your question, none of my kids speak anything but English. It's been such a pain to translate things for them. I'm fluent in speaking Khmer but can't read or write. I can get by in Spanish or French but I'm losing it pretty fast...

 

[lala646]

My husband is conversationally fluent in Cantonese (Toisanese), but doesn't read or write at all. And interestingly, he also speaks Spanish pretty well, because his parents emigrated to Argentina after leaving China, and once they moved to NYC they opened a Chino-Latino restaurant in a heavily Latino neighborhood, so it was spoken a lot at the restaurant. Before she passed, his mom would sometimes speak to me in Spanish when she couldn't remember the words in English.

I used to be fluent in Danish after living in DK when younger, but have lost much to lack of practice.

 

[xsouzie]

No kids but I'm fluent in English, Laotian, Thai and some French. I'm Canadian and we were required to learn French up until high school. After that, it was optional.

@kenny : What do Bolivian screams sound like?

 

[kenny]

kiug

... @kenny : What do Bolivian screams sound like?

Exactly like parrot screams in English (whatever that is) but the screamer's ancestry is Bolivia.

 

[Dancing Fire]

My husband is conversationally fluent in Cantonese (Toisanese), but doesn't read or write at all.

That's like me. Does your husband knows all the bad words in Toisanese? Wish I can speak Mandarin.

 

[ForteKitty]

I am ABC, am fluent in Mandarin and English, and can understand maybe 20% of Taiwanese (all the bad stuff, plus food). Grandma raised me and she spoke Mandarin, so that was my primary language as a kid. (she fled China during Japanese occupation when the majority of her family was slaughtered, moved to Taiwan, then U.S.) Plus I went to school in Taiwan for 1st grade. (just one year due to my dad's work) I can still read newspapers, but can't write anymore. My kid... not a word of Mandarin. I tried so hard, but he just wouldn't respond. We enrolled him in Spanish dual immersion, and he's doing fantastic so far in K even though it's all remote learning. Google translate has been a life saver. This program goes from K-12 where in Kinder 90% of his main subjects are taught in Spanish, 1st grade 80%, 2nd 70%... till they reach 50/50. STEM, computer lab, music, and library time are taught separately by other teachers so those are taught in English. It's got a pretty high success rate so hopefully he'll learn and retain it.

 

[kenny]

I am ABC ...

What's ABC, as you use the letters?

 

[LilAlex]

Kids speak either French or Spanish; parents do not. Probably the best part of their pre-college education, imo.

 

[ForteKitty]

What's ABC, as you use the letters?

American Born Chinese. I wrote that because when people find out one's ABC, they're a little surprised if that person is fluent in the "mother tongue". Usually English is the primary/only language. Most of my ABC friends only speak English.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I don’t have kids.

Natively fluent in English and Hindi, and I can speak some other Indian languages (3 or 4) but not well (can’t read or write them). Reasonably fluent in German, and beginner level in French (for both of these reading/writing is much simpler and easier than speaking. I can’t really speak French at all). My European language skills have definitely worsened.

 

[Dancing Fire]

What's ABC, as you use the letters?

I'm an FOB...

 

[kenny]

I'm an FOB...

Without fingers, how do you wear your diamond ring?

 

[ForteKitty]

I'm an FOB...

Hahaha... i remember when FOB was used in a disparaging way in the 90s, but it seemed to have evolved into something more positive in recent years? (someone who is resourceful and retains both cultures, vs ABC who are still seen as lacking their home culture and not quite accepted as American either)

 

[kenny]

American Born Chinese. ...

Thanks.
Wiki says there are now 195 countries, and Glob only knows how many languages.

Imagine how many acronyms we'd need to memorize ...

 

[kenny]

Hahaha... i remember when FOB was used in a disparaging way in the 90s, but it seemed to have evolved into something more positive in recent years? (someone who is resourceful and retains both cultures, vs ABC who are still seen as lacking their home culture and not quite accepted as American either)

You mean he wasn't referring to the car opener?
Fancy that.

 

[kenny]

I'm an FOB...

DF, what is an FOB as you use the term here?
Sorry, I only speak English and a bit of Spanish and Portuguese.

 

[Dancing Fire]

DF, what is an FOB as you use the term here?
Sorry, I only speak English and a bit of Spanish and Portuguese.

Fresh Off the Boat.

 

[kenny]

Fresh Off the Boat.

Of course.

 

[Austina]

My daughter in law is blingual, she’s American Vietnamese. I imagine if they have children, she’ll speak to them in both languages.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

This is a favorite topic on PS.

are your kids bilingual? | PriceScope

are you bilingual...what other language do you speak fluently? | PriceScope

What Languages Do You Speak? | Page 3 | PriceScope

cheers--Sharon

 

[AGBF]

HI:

This is a favorite topic on PS.

are your kids bilingual? | PriceScope

are you bilingual...what other language do you speak fluently? | PriceScope

What Languages Do You Speak? | Page 3 | PriceScope

cheers--Sharon

Good work gathering threads, Sharon!