babyleans Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 I was wondering if biracial children prefer one language to the other. sometimes i'm surprised that some biracial kids can only speak the language of one parent. is it because the parents prefer to expose them to just one of the languages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosa Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 It is true that there are biracial children who speak just one language. I think it is a bit sad because exposing them to both languages could be the best thing that the parents could ever do. This could open up a lot of opportunities for them in the future or even help them to communicate with their relatives on both sides of the family more fluently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May102014 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I never knew of this situation before. I know my biracial friends were raised in a household where they spoke both languages. One culture didn't dominate over the other. Even if this is the case of one language being spoken, I think as an individual grow older that will change. Curiosity about the other language is bound to arise and some biracial people may decide to learn more about the language and culture that wasn't taught in their household as a child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trellum Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 The guy I'm with is form another country and speak another language, if things go accordingly we plan to actually have a family together. We plan to teach the kids my language as well, they'll learn English at school, his language for everything else and mine at home. We do that so when we go visit my parents they can talk to the kids and understand each other. When you are in a relationship like this is important to teach them both languages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuparientemateo Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I have a friend from Honduras who only spoke English like an American. The rest of his family spoke both Spanish and English. He hated it and really tried as hard as he could to learn Spanish so he could talk to his family and live his culture. I think it's just lazy/unthoughtful parenting to not expose your kid to the languages you know. It could be an easy way to support yourself later in life, and is also an invaluable skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trellum Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 It is true that there are biracial children who speak just one language. I think it is a bit sad because exposing them to both languages could be the best thing that the parents could ever do. This could open up a lot of opportunities for them in the future or even help them to communicate with their relatives on both sides of the family more fluently.Rosa, I know a lot families like that in the US, where some of my relatives live. The kids end up speaking English only or a mix of Spanish and English, a very broken one. But many of them end up being monolingual, it's quite common. It happens in countries like the US a lot.I guess the parents don't see the reason to teach their kids the language spoken in their country, some are actually not proud of their roots, others are, but don't see a good reason to put all that effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosa Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Rosa, I know a lot families like that in the US, where some of my relatives live. The kids end up speaking English only or a mix of Spanish and English, a very broken one. But many of them end up being monolingual, it's quite common. It happens in countries like the US a lot.I guess the parents don't see the reason to teach their kids the language spoken in their country, some are actually not proud of their roots, others are, but don't see a good reason to put all that effort. I don't think these parents really know what they could be shunning their children from. I think someone needs to open their eyes to reality because if they allow their children to speak all the languages possible I know these kids will thank them later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archangelos Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 It's a ridiculous thing for a biracial kid not to be bilingual. It would be ridiculous to meet relatives from the other country and to to be able to speak to them.It's very very easy for a biracial kid to become bilingual. It only needs each parent to speak in his mother tongue. It should be done for the very first moment of it's life. Babies are young but not stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PashaR Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 I know quite a few families from Russia & Ukraine who are raising kids here in the USA. I think it is important for the parents to speak their native language at home. The kids will pick up English through friends, television, social media, and especially school. Even so, I have seen teens who can speak their parents' native language but have difficulty reading it.I know one Russian boy (he is 15) whose parents decided to speak mostly English to him from the time he was born. Since he was born in the USA, they felt it was important for him to learn English. However, being native Russians, the parents' English is far from perfect. So he has learned English incorrectly. Since they rarely spoke Russian to him, his Russian is quite poor as well. He struggles to read in both languages. I think his parents did him a real disservice; they should have spoken Russian at home. He would have picked up English on his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g2narat Posted August 5, 2014 Report Share Posted August 5, 2014 It's a shame when a language is lost that way. I mean considering they have their parents who can teach them, why not learn it? It doesn't even have to be formal lessons. Just learn the language of your parents bit by bit. How hard can that be? :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Determined2014 Posted August 5, 2014 Report Share Posted August 5, 2014 I was wondering if biracial children prefer one language to the other. sometimes i'm surprised that some biracial kids can only speak the language of one parent. is it because the parents prefer to expose them to just one of the languages? I believe ot all falls back on the parents, if the parents put an effort of teaching them both languages then the children would learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.