Bringing Up Babel
By Opinion
Published 4 years ago on
November 14, 2019
Share
[aggregation-styles]
The Economist: 1843
The Economist: 1843
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016
“Her is a bad guy!” This is a nerve-racking moment, not the first and not to be the last. My son Henry is describing the squid-witch Ursula, from Disney’s “Little Mermaid”, to his brother Jack. “She” is one of the most common words in the English language, but Henry has botched it and come up with “her”. He has just turned four. He should be able to use “she” properly at his age. Is his bilingual upbringing holding him back?
My wife is Danish; we met and married in New York. I sweated to learn Danish partly because she emigrated to be with me; I wanted to make the deal fair and be part of her world too. If you don’t speak a person’s native language, there’s always a corner of their mind you can’t quite reach. But everyone who has learned a language in adulthood knows how hard it is, with the grammar books and the flash cards, the pronunciation problems and the awkward rhythm, never quite getting to fluency. How much better to raise a genuine bilingual.
“Her is a bad guy!” This is a nerve-racking moment, not the first and not to be the last. My son Henry is describing the squid-witch Ursula, from Disney’s “Little Mermaid”, to his brother Jack. “She” is one of the most common words in the English language, but Henry has botched it and come up with “her”. He has just turned four. He should be able to use “she” properly at his age. Is his bilingual upbringing holding him back?
My wife is Danish; we met and married in New York. I sweated to learn Danish partly because she emigrated to be with me; I wanted to make the deal fair and be part of her world too. If you don’t speak a person’s native language, there’s always a corner of their mind you can’t quite reach. But everyone who has learned a language in adulthood knows how hard it is, with the grammar books and the flash cards, the pronunciation problems and the awkward rhythm, never quite getting to fluency. How much better to raise a genuine bilingual.
By Lane Greene | Oct/Nov 2019
RELATED TOPICS:
At Time of Rising Antisemitism, Holocaust Survivors Take on Denial and Hate in New Digital Campaign
Inspire /
14 hours ago
Gov. Newsom Appoints Judges for Fresno, Merced Counties
Local /
1 day ago
Israel Briefs US on Evacuation Plan for Palestinians Ahead of Planned Rafah Assault
World /
1 day ago
Canadian Police Make 3 Arrests in Sikh Separatist’s Slaying That Sparked a Spat with India
World /
1 day ago
Three Arrested for Trespassing, Posting Flyers at Fresno Synagogue and Church
Crime /
1 day ago
Latest
Videos
Politics /
14 hours ago
Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump
World /
14 hours ago
New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority
Inspire /
14 hours ago
At Time of Rising Antisemitism, Holocaust Survivors Take on Denial and Hate in New Digital Campaign
Local /
1 day ago
Gov. Newsom Appoints Judges for Fresno, Merced Counties
World /
1 day ago