Why talking two languages with my youngsters creates a particular cultural connection between our Chinese language and English heritages.
From simpler journey experiences, higher cognitive skills, and elevated creativity and open-mindedness, having the ability to converse two languages has its fair proportion of advantages. As well as, it creates a particular cultural connection between those that perceive the identical languages.
Right here’s a narrative of how one mom is instructing her youngsters to embrace their tradition by mixing languages, creating jokes, and having enjoyable with phrases.
Associated: How Watching Chinese language YouTube Movies Helped Our Household Be taught Our Native Language
Rising up bilingual
My dad and mom immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong within the Seventies. Till the age of 5, I solely spoke Cantonese. Then after I entered college, I began selecting up English. It was solely a matter of time earlier than I grew to become fluent in each languages.
Cantonese was the language I spoke at house and with household; English was the language I spoke in school and with pals. And my sisters had been the identical. So we beloved making phrases up that mixed each languages.
Developing with a language my dad and mom could not perceive
We made up our personal Pin Yin system. Pin Yin means “Spell Sound”. It’s a technique of spelling Chinese language phrases with the letters of the Latin alphabet based mostly on how they’re pronounced. Then we might abbreviate sure phrases that our dad and mom didn’t need us saying resembling slang and profanity.
As an illustration, once we talked about somebody we didn’t like, we might say “PK”. PK (踣街) stands for “Puk Gai” and immediately interprets to “fall on the road”. It’s a widespread Cantonese curse phrase that when mentioned to a different individual means they need them to drop lifeless.
It was an inside joke that our dad and mom by no means understood and created an eternal bond between us siblings.
Simply the opposite day, my sister texted me to say she was stepping into for her efficiency overview at work. I responded with the phrases, “Add Oil” (加油, “ga yau”) which is a Chinglish (Chinese language + English) expression of help and encouragement. It references including gasoline to an engine to rev it up.
If I wrote that to somebody who didn’t perceive this, they’d have thought I used to be giving them a recipe for a stir-fry.
Carrying on the within joke for the subsequent technology
My husband and I each converse Cantonese and English. Now we have our shared language as nicely. His nickname for me is WJM which stands for “wu jo mau” (污糟貓) and interprets to “soiled cat”. It’s a phrase that folks name their kids after they don’t clear their rooms. I can tolerate messes a bit greater than he can.
My nickname for him is WSM which stands for “wai sik mau” (為食貓) and interprets to “grasping for meals cat”. He’s a foodie who likes to eat and is at all times craving one thing.
After we had our youngsters, we wished to protect our native language so we solely spoke Cantonese to them. We had been elevating our youngsters in the identical surroundings we grew up in; due to this fact, we knew we might have extra in widespread with them than our dad and mom did with us.
Nevertheless, I by no means anticipated I might be carrying the particular cultural connection by way of laughter and jokes.
My husband and I each converse Cantonese and English. Now we have our shared language as nicely. His nickname for me is WJM which stands for “wu jo mau” (污糟貓) and interprets to “soiled cat”. It’s a phrase that folks name their kids after they don’t clear their rooms. I can tolerate messes a bit greater than he can.
My nickname for him is WSM which stands for “wai sik mau” (為食貓) and interprets to “grasping for meals cat”. He’s a foodie who likes to eat and is at all times craving one thing.
After we had our youngsters, we wished to protect our native language so we solely spoke Cantonese to them. We had been elevating our youngsters in the identical surroundings we grew up in; due to this fact, we knew we might have extra in widespread with them than our dad and mom did with us.
Nevertheless, I by no means anticipated I might be carrying the particular cultural connection by way of laughter and jokes.
An evening of laughter and linguistics
Lately, my daughter and I skilled a second the place I obtained to see my inside joke go full circle.
We had been studying a ebook earlier than mattress about a bit monster who finds a misplaced pet. He brings him house and takes care of it. As I’m translating the English story in my head and studying it aloud in Cantonese, I unintentionally say that the pet grew to become his “pet” as a substitute of utilizing the Chinese language phrase for “pet”.
My daughter seems at me and begins to smile. I’m confused. I notice that I mentioned an English phrase as a substitute of a Chinese language phrase. However what was so humorous about that?
As she bursts into laughter, she says that I mentioned a foolish factor. I nonetheless don’t know what was happening so ask her, “What did Mommy say?”
She’s now obtained tears streaming out of her eyes whereas she struggles to comprise herself, “You mentioned his pet grew to become his butt.”
I begin to chuckle too as a result of whenever you say the English phrase “pet”, it sounds just like the Cantonese phrase “噼” which is a infantile time period for buttocks.
We’re each holding our bellies and laughing as I attempt to end studying the ebook. I hand over. I put the ebook down. We’re each laying on the mattress, taking turns saying the phrase “pet” and beginning the laughing match another time.
Embracing each my cultural influences
As I mirror on that night time, I noticed the importance of experiences like these for my youngsters. I grew up divided between my Chinese language and Canadian upbringing, by no means feeling like I belonged in both. My dad and mom couldn’t empathize with my experiences as a result of they didn’t develop up in Canada. Though we might converse the identical language, quite a lot of these cultural nuances had been misplaced in translation.
Nevertheless, by way of elevating my youngsters, I’m capable of cement my sense of identification, recognize each cultural influences and create one which I’m pleased with. Sharing this made-up language with my youngsters has empowered them to study extra about their cultures.
The extra they perceive each side of the coin, the extra they will acknowledge the distinctive experiences of being a Chinese language Canadian and the stronger their sense of self-worth turns into. Not like me, they received’t really feel like they want to decide on one tradition over one other. As an alternative, they will actually embrace the completely different elements of who they’re.
And if which means I’ve to get inventive, make jokes, and chuckle alongside the best way? I’m all in…no ifs, ands, or butts about it!