Selective hearing

I'm always so busy focusing on how my kids' language aquisition is going that I forget to think about my own. I seem to forget that I too am strugling with the languages around me - both my native American English, my non-native French and the various other bits and pieces of languages I could once speak (Hebrew and Spanish) or have learned recently but don't quite speak (Dutch and German) and all the other bits I have archived in the back of my head. And that's not even mentioning the European gobblydygook I speak at work.


So when Jérôme mentioned a while back that Suzanne's English interfered with her French - and not only the other way around - I of course said that was inconceivable (see scene from the Princess Bride). Of course, my husband was right...again...like he was about Max understanding more English than French.

Suzanne's French is obviously her stronger language. I previously mentioned certain cases where she uses English grammar and syntax in her French. But, what amazed me, was when Jérôme pointed out a couple of cases where her American accent actually influences her French. I, of course, did not even hear it until he pointed it out because I suppose I've grown immune to her accent in the same way I have grown used to the mistakes my non-native English speaking co-workers' make.

Even at home, my brain is overcompensating for my ears. Jerome hears Max saying "tiens" and I hear "here". But we can't both be right since Max said it while we were both in the same room. You might say I have selective hearing.

Some examples of Suzanne's American accented French:

The French word for parent is pronounced pah-ren. In my American accent, I say pair-ent. But Suzanne says pair-en, taking the first syllable of the English and the second of the French.

Another example is the word question. Suzanne says kwestion which once again takes the first syllable of the English and the second of the French (ke-stion).

There are many examples of where Suzanne transposes her French grammar to her English as in the following sentences:

I all eat my plate (a translation of the French sentence, j'ai mangé toute mon assiette)

What do you have? anything...(not nothing) because the word for nothing and anything is the same in French. rien.

She is also struggling with some past participles at the moment, but as far as I can tell, this is normal when dealing with irregular verbs: I sawed; I bringed.

Suzanne is also using French structure for complex sentences as in the following:
After eating, I want that we make make cookies (as in the French sentence, après manger, je veux qu'on fasse des cookies).

Until recently, I wasn't making her repeat correctly. I would repeat her sentence with the correct grammar and hope it sank in. But last week, I decided to be more proactive in making her actually say, and not just hear, the correct form. It seems to have worked.

Max's vocabulary is steadily improving. As with Suzanne, it's looking more and more like he's be a "late" walker but an "early" speaker (not as early as his sister though!). But I for one am rather happy that he is speaking but not so worried about his walking. If he continues to scooth himself along on one leg and one arm for another 3 months, I couldn't care less. I know he'll walk; there's no doubt in my mind. But will he speak English and French.

It was reassuring to see that, after 4 days without us (we went to Madrid and left the kids with their French grandparents), both kids went back into bilingual mode. Yes, even Max's 2 words (car and ball) still sound English to me...or maybe it's my selective hearing again.