The Story about Language Part II

Yesterday I had a conversation with one of my students/friends about reading in another language. I finally finished reading "The Shadow of the Wind" in English, even though it was originally written by a Spanish man named Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and commented that I had attempted to read it in its original form, but found that the beauty of the language was completely lost when I did. Plus, there were expressions and slang that I didn't understand, leaving pockets of blanks throughout the story. He told me that when he reads in English, even though he usually understands what he's reading, he never really feels like he gets "inside" the book. He's just following along from the outside.That conversation warped into a new conversation about living abroad in a country where the native language is different from yours. When I tried to explain how it felt to me, living in Spain, the book reference came back. It's the same feeling I get living here. I understand what's going on, and I follow along from the outside, but that's where I remain. I never really get inside. I always feel like an outsider. I don't know if it's possible that this is a common feeling amongst foreigners. Maybe that's why it's so common for them to band together and start their own little community. I really have no idea. But this is the way it feels for me living here.

Having a Spanish-American daughter who will someday (if all goes well) be bilingual, is a trip in itself. I have read up on living in a bilingual household and I have also been fortunate enough to know quite a few bilingual families. Typically, the first language that tends to emerge is that of the parent who is with the children most of the time.. hence English in our case. I had been waiting and waiting for those English words to come. Paquita, Alex's mother, would often say things like, "She said 'ya esta'!!" and I was always thinking, "yeah sure she did..." Imagine my surprise on my birthday when she said 'hola' as clear as day.Well, she is around her Spanish grandparents all the time, and I always tell her to say 'hola' to everyone we meet on the streets. I guess I just needed to be patient. So I calmly waited for her first English word to come. "Leche", "papá", "mama" "yaya" "agua", "upa"...but only more Spanish words came. Where were the English words?? Then one afternoon, while we were walking down the street, she just blurted it out.

"Woof"!

Yes, she barks in English. Spanish dogs do not say "woof", you see? They say "guau guau". So we finally got a word! Later, we got some more, "doggie", "nana" (banana and Nana) "Bapa"(grandpa), "Ari", "Aia" (Gaia) and "cheese". It seems that because she lives here and is surrounded by Spanish outside of the home, she is picking up that language easier.

When we move back to the US, that is when the true challenge will begin. Will Alex be able to consistently speak in Spanish with the kids? We'll see... Our plan is to speak Spanish at home as well as having Alex regularly speak to them in Spanish. I've seen and heard some crazy stories, though, so I'm not going to be overly optimisic. I recently met an American lady who has been living here for over 30 years. She has always spoken to her two children in English, but she never insisted that they answer her back in English. It's the most incredible thing, she speaks to her, now grown, children in English and they answer her in Spanish. They can speak English, but they speak with a Spanish accent.

I suppose I never fully understood what I was getting myself into when I decided to come to Spain. Romaticism in your mid twenties can make you do spontaneous and outrageous things. Of course I don't regret my decisions. I love my husband and my little pip squeak, and life is positively more colorful, challenging, and amusing than in my monolingual days.

I've attached a video of Bella looking through some books (take a look at the MOUNTAIN of books on the floor!). You will hear her say "woof" (I think she's referring to the little teddy bear in the book) and she also says "hola". At the moment, her favorite word is "agua" and she makes sure to point it out whenever: she sees fountains, the sea, someone drinking from a water bottle, if she gets wet, if it rains, when she hears splashing in the pool... etc.

The Story about Language Part 1

I had never really thought about language before I moved to Spain. It was a dream of mine to speak another language, but it definitely wasn't something that crossed my mind daily. I had absolutely no concept of the true difficulty involved in learning another language. I remember speaking to my roomate's French friends while I lived in Pacific Grove. I would babble on and on, endlessly, like usual, and then look at them to reply. They'd usually look at me with those typical lost faces that foriegners and tourists make when a cashier in a grocery store asks them a question. gulp! "HELP"One of them finally said to me, "Sarah, you are so hard to understand. You speak so fast." Huh? Me? Really? I hadn't thought about that before. Was it really that hard to comprehend what I was saying. Um... YES.

Now I understand that. I'm so glad I don't have to speak to my past self in another language. It would probably be like speaking to the girl that works in our bar. I have no idea what she does, but I maybe understand her half of the time I talk to her. It's completely frustrating, and now it's me with one of those dumb faces. (Pssst... I'm secretly a pro at pretending I understand everything. It's something you learn pretty quickly when you get tired of looking lost all of the time).

So, now I think of language every day. I don't usually have to think so much to understand, unless I'm speaking about a subject in which I'm lacking serious vocabulary - the names of trees and plants, for example, or specific anatomy or bodily processes... the things you don't speak about on a day to day basis. Constructing sentences isn't difficult either, unless I worry about speaking completely grammatically correct. Speaking grammatically correctly is a bitch.
I obviosuly have to think about language when I teach English. Did you know that when I came to Spain I really learned TWO new languages? I did. English and Spanish.I new how to speak English before, but I knew nothing about it. How many verb tenses do we have in English? I answered that question when I first arrived - "three - present past and future" WRONG. There are three simple tenses, but altogether, English has more like 18. Of course I had to learn all of them and the rules behind them. When do we use 'do' and when do we use 'make'? Care to try to answer that?

• Do your homework. Make your bed. I made a cake. I'm making progres. He's made a mistake.

Not so easy to explain, is it? Especially when the word 'hacer' in Spanish is used for both of them.

Oh language, you little devil!

Being married to a man whose native language is different than mine... that's weird sometimes. Even though Alex speaks fluent English, we still sometimes have our difficulties. I've learned to speak much more clearly than when I lived in Pacific Grove, but I still mumble now and then. We also get into heated arguments about speaking Spanish. I want him to speak in Spanish more often. He says it's too difficult to remember since he's used to speaking in English with me. I say, "make an effort". Then he worries about losing some of his English. We finally agree to speak Spanish three days a week. Our first few sentences of the day start in Spanish, but somewhere along the line, one of us slips back into English, and then it's all over. No more Spanish. DEFEATED.

(This is already a long post, so I'm going to leave it with this status: To be CONTINUED)