You know what I hate? Every time I go to big-city-a-few-hours-away-from-the-village-in-which-I-live people just speak English a bit and then they switch into whatever other language they speak! And I don’t understand a thing! I always think they are talking about me!
And, after she overheard a brief conversation I had in German with S:
What did you just say to her?? Did you talk about me!??!
This is the first time she’s ever made these kinds of comments to me, as in the past she was always quite interested in what I was saying to the kids and often asked either me or the kids to teach her some German words. She’s also been quite impressed with the kids’ enthusiastic renditions of “Oh Tannenbaum”, a year-round favorite they like to belt out often (and I mean belt out, as there's nothing delicate about it when they get going. Unlike in the above video.).
So what happened?
I think it’s because she’s become a teenager, complete with all the awkward self-consciousness that comes with it. But it’s disheartening, really, ‘cause it makes me wonder how my own kids will deal with their bilingualism when they become awkwardly self-conscious teenagers themselves and just want to fit in with whatever their friends are doing and/or rebel against their dear ol’ parents any way they can think off.
At least she listened to my explanation of why I speak German with the kids and why they speak it with me even in front of others who don’t speak it themselves. And she seemed to get it, too. At least I think she did.
And I will try not to worry about my own little punks, not yet anyway, as we’ve got a few years to go before they become teenagers themselves.
1 comments:
So odd to see language paranoia in a bilingual, normally it's a monolingual trait. Just ask any Welsh-speaker when the English speakers bring up anecdotes of walking into Welsh pubs when everyone switches from Welsh to English when they walk in (with obvious neon signs saying "I'm English, please say things about me in Welsh")
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