Category: Bicultural Experiences
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You can learn Spanish, but you will never get our culture.
Speaking Spanish for us does not begin at 7:45 am and end at 2:57 pm. Speaking Spanish for us is NOT “a lesson.” It’s not a “time period.” It’s not a temporary thing. Spanish isn’t something that happens out of coincidence. I wouldn’t even say that it’s how we “naturally” communicate. Spanish for us is…
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A Bilingual Journey of Spanish and English. Guest Post by Diana Sampedro
My name is Diana, I am a Spanish mum of a 6 year old girl, and we live in Spain. Her dad is Spanish, too. I love languages and speak English so I decided to raise my kid bilingual, even though I am not a “native” English speaker myself. I think babies and kids have…
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Officially an expert in Bilingualism and Bilingual Education
Today I passed my dissertation defense. I have been writing about being bilingual for 9 years on this blog and I NOW have the title to back up my thoughts and ideas. Si se pudo!!!!
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3rd generation bilinguals: an anomaly?
Statistically speaking my daughters should not be speaking Spanish. It is a well known fact that most U.S. born individuals lose their parents or grandparents “native” language by the 3rd generation. First generation being the parents that immigrated to the U.S. and 2nd generation being the children born in the U.S. I have to admit…
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Multilingualism is like los manglares de Ecuador.
The mangrove forests are found in tropical places all around the world. One of the places they are found is in and around the surrounding areas of Guayaquil, Ecuador. According to World Wildlife: “The world’s mangrove forests have been described as one of the most distinctive emersed tropical ecological systems on the planet (Fundación Natura…
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I am Bilingual or Translanguaging Practices
If you speak to me in Spanish and I respond in English it’s not because I don’t speak Spanish well it’s because I AM BILINGUAL. If I start a sentence in Spanish and finish it in English it’s not because I don’t speak Spanish well it’s because I AM BILINGUAL. If I can’t remember a…
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Translating the sense of “orderliness” in another country….
After several months of living in Guayaquil, specifically Samborondon, I have finally reached a point where I can see their sense of orderliness. It happened when I was driving down, like I do everyday, the infamous peninsula strip in Samborondon. Driving in this upper-class suburb is nothing compared to the intensity and vibration Guayaquil, the…
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Language use, accents, and stereotypes.
In Anjelah Johnson’s “Nail Salon” comedy act, which aired on the Comedy Time network in 2007, there is a deliberate use of marked language or speech markers by a speaker from outside the group in question. In fact, mocking speakers from outside her ethnic and racial group is a common theme in many of her…
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My Toddler’s Bilingual Development
I have been recording (mostly on Facebook) my daughters’ bilingual development. The following conversation took place when she was 1 year and 11 months old. Me: Sabrina, ven a comer los frijoles. Sabrina: No, jole! Me: Ven aquí. Sabrina: No ven Me: Si Sabrina No, si! As you can see her words are “fragmented” and…
Interpretations of a Bilingual Life 