What Language Do You Speak?

[Neeranam]

Now that my son is born I speak English in to him and Thai to my wife.

My wife now only speaks Thai when around him; although sometimes she forgets.

I have been told that this is the best way to help a child become bilingual.

I agree.

I speak ONLY English to my daughters. I used to speak Thai ony to my wife but now usually English unless it is about something important.

As time goes by, I seem to be talking less to her

The only Thais I allow to speak English to my daughters are bilingual 'luuk kreung' or Thais who have studied abroad.

[garro]

Now that my son is born I speak English in to him and Thai to my wife.

My wife now only speaks Thai when around him; although sometimes she forgets.

I have been told that this is the best way to help a child become bilingual.

I agree.

I speak ONLY English to my daughters. I used to speak Thai ony to my wife but now usually English unless it is about something important.

As time goes by, I seem to be talking less to her

The only Thais I allow to speak English to my daughters are bilingual 'luuk kreung' or Thais who have studied abroad.

Neerenam,

what age are they now and how good is their English?

[Neeranam]

Garro, they're young. One is 5 and speaks good English considering that she goes to a normal Thai school. There was the temptation to explain things in Thai but I didn't and it was harder but already feel the benefits. I make sure that I give her an English story every night and try to explain EVERY new word. She's started to say, "Daddy stop, what does that word mean'.

Again I think it's important for Thai mothers to speak only Thai to their kids.

[Smithson]

Now that my son is born I speak English in to him and Thai to my wife.

My wife now only speaks Thai when around him; although sometimes she forgets.

I have been told that this is the best way to help a child become bilingual.

I agree.

I speak ONLY English to my daughters. I used to speak Thai ony to my wife but now usually English unless it is about something important.

As time goes by, I seem to be talking less to her

The only Thais I allow to speak English to my daughters are bilingual 'luuk kreung' or Thais who have studied abroad.

What happens if you catch them speaking English with someone they're not supposed to?

[Neeranam]

Now that my son is born I speak English in to him and Thai to my wife.

My wife now only speaks Thai when around him; although sometimes she forgets.

I have been told that this is the best way to help a child become bilingual.

I agree.

I speak ONLY English to my daughters. I used to speak Thai ony to my wife but now usually English unless it is about something important.

As time goes by, I seem to be talking less to her

The only Thais I allow to speak English to my daughters are bilingual 'luuk kreung' or Thais who have studied abroad.

What happens if you catch them speaking English with someone they're not supposed to?

Spanked bottom, solitary confinement for a day and no dinner.

[Smithson]

Garro, they're young. One is 5 and speaks good English considering that she goes to a normal Thai school. There was the temptation to explain things in Thai but I didn't and it was harder but already feel the benefits. I make sure that I give her an English story every night and try to explain EVERY new word. She's started to say, "Daddy stop, what does that word mean'.

Again I think it's important for Thai mothers to speak only Thai to their kids.

In schools the kids use those alphabet books that have things like "A, ant, mort, B, bird, nok"

There's pics of the animals so it's completely unnecessary to have the translation, this is the start of the bad English study.

[Pink Mist]

30% English, 30% Thai and 40% crap.

I am trying to get to the point of not speaking at all, that would be best IMHO.

you forgot gibberish

[Neeranam]

Garro, they're young. One is 5 and speaks good English considering that she goes to a normal Thai school. There was the temptation to explain things in Thai but I didn't and it was harder but already feel the benefits. I make sure that I give her an English story every night and try to explain EVERY new word. She's started to say, "Daddy stop, what does that word mean'.

Again I think it's important for Thai mothers to speak only Thai to their kids.

In schools the kids use those alphabet books that have things like "A, ant, mort, B, bird, nok"

There's pics of the animals so it's completely unnecessary to have the translation, this is the start of the bad English study.

They're great for the teachers to learn Thai

[KhaoNiaw]

The only Thais I allow to speak English to my daughters are bilingual 'luuk kreung' or Thais who have studied abroad.

From a very early age, my daughter refused to respond in English to any Thai that tried to use it with her. She would either ignore them completely or just answer in Thai.

I've always used Thai with the wife and English with my daughter since she was born (15 now). My wife and daughter converse in Thai.

My daughter now pulls me up when I'm mispronouncing in Thai, and always enjoys her mother murdering the English language on the phone to my folks. (Fair dos to the wife though - she's picked up a lot of English just from interaction between me and my daughter, and doesn't do too badly overa 10-minute phonecall.)

Edited November 10, 2007 by KhaoNiaw

[smeagle]

English and Thai and a wee bit scottish comes oot HAHA

[Neeranam]

English and Thai and a wee bit scottish comes oot HAHA

lol - my daughter had explain what "breeks" and "snippie" were to her mother.

[garro]

English and Thai and a wee bit scottish comes oot HAHA

lol - my daughter had explain what "breeks" and "snippie" were to her mother.

Does your daughter have a Scottish accent?

I cannae find ma schoolbag ya barnpot.

Da, the polis are here ta see ya

Edited November 10, 2007 by garro

[sbk]

Now that my son is born I speak English in to him and Thai to my wife.

My wife now only speaks Thai when around him; although sometimes she forgets.

I have been told that this is the best way to help a child become bilingual.

I agree.

I speak ONLY English to my daughters. I used to speak Thai ony to my wife but now usually English unless it is about something important.

As time goes by, I seem to be talking less to her

The only Thais I allow to speak English to my daughters are bilingual 'luuk kreung' or Thais who have studied abroad.

What happens if you catch them speaking English with someone they're not supposed to?

Spanked bottom, solitary confinement for a day and no dinner.

Pity the poor Thai person then. Imagine their surprise when their bottom gets smacked

My husband and I speak English with each other. He spoke English when we met and my Thai was non-existent. Also his brother used to live right next door (for years) and so we spoke English in order to have a bit of privacy.

Besides, he mumbles in Thai something terrible and I have a hard time understanding him

[KhaoNiaw]

Has anybody tried English with other Thai children in the family?

Our nephew lived with us for about 4 months when he was 3 years old. I tried only speaking English to him and, even though I didn't keep it up 100%, he really began to understand questions and expressions that we used a lot. Once he left, though, most of it was lost.

He came back to live near us last year (he's 7 now) and I noticed there are a couple of the old things that came back quickly. "Close the door" and he doesn't hesitate.

I've been trying to get him reading English through phonics but I'm not sure that it's a good idea to do this alongside "a ant mot" from school. It's like getting him to grasp a completely different system. Any thoughts?

Edited November 10, 2007 by KhaoNiaw

[Crow Boy]

My girlfriend is Northern Thai and speaks Central and Northern Thai, she also speaks a couple of mountain dialects. She does not speak any English so the only language we speak at home (Chiang Mai) is Thai. She is very good and only uses the central dialect with me.

CB

[disgruntled]

I speak Thai 99% of the time with my wife and kid! My daughter does know a little English though. Right now the wife and kids are upcountry and I am in rotten old Bangkok. We talk on the phone everyday. My wife doesn't have a formal education in English so Thai gets to the point much more quickly. My wife tries to use some Thai with the little one. I hope to be with them soon but I am tied to BKK right now.

[lazeeboy]

speak mostly english and a language weve made up that others dont understand ....

[garro]

I speak Thai 99% of the time with my wife and kid! My daughter does know a little English though. Right now the wife and kids are upcountry and I am in rotten old Bangkok. We talk on the phone everyday. My wife doesn't have a formal education in English so Thai gets to the point much more quickly. My wife tries to use some Thai with the little one. I hope to be with them soon but I am tied to BKK right now.

Does your child speak any English?

Maybe your child is already grown and is fluent in both languages?

Maybe you don't care if they learn English or prefer them not to learn?

Maybe English isn't your first language, although your post suggests that it is.

Your post has intrigued me, and I would like to hear more information.

I personally would dislike the idea of my child not being fluent in both languages.

I love speakng Thai, but I also feel lucky to be a native English speaker.

It would also be bad for business as I teach English

[scousemouse]

I speak Thai to the ball and chain and English to my son .

[scousemouse]

English and Thai and a wee bit scottish comes oot HAHA

lol - my daughter had explain what "breeks" and "snippie" were to her mother.

and when my son says " dee do doh don't dee doh " , the wife hasn't got a clue .

[Mosha]

My buddy back in the UK and his wife have a 15 year old son. They talked in their individual mother tongue to the boy, which proved useful. When his wife had a fall out with my friend she would refuse to talk English to him, which was a problem cos he can't speak Thai. The son was the translation service.

[mazimus]

I have been with my Thai girlfriend for 3 years,to help us both to stay on the ball we made a pact some time ago to speak Thai on day and English the next.It has worked for us.Her English is now perfect however my Thai can only be described as good.

[siamshot]

Our1.8 year old best boy ever gets Thai from Mama, German from Papa, but also English from both of us as well as from friends or customers.

Until now no problems, we'll see, when he starts with real sentences. 

Up to now he always uses the easier to pronounce words - and that are mostly Thai ones...

[MikeRay]

Our daughter is three now and she has problems to speak properly. Even I told my wife to only speak Thai with the children it was quite often a mix of Thai/English/German, all in one sentence .I only speak German to my daughter, but I don´t speak proper German to my wife. It used to be English but now it´s more Thaiglish. She´s attending school here in Germany to learn the language, but as we only see us 15mins. in the morning and about 90 mins. in the evening it´s still quicker to hear and get all the necessary info in our own created language. The daghter listens to this crap all the time and so it´s our fault. We now have an apointment with a specialist to sort that out

[KhaoNiaw]

Our daughter is three now and she has problems to speak properly. Even I told my wife to only speak Thai with the children it was quite often a mix of Thai/English/German, all in one sentence .I only speak German to my daughter, but I don´t speak proper German to my wife. It used to be English but now it´s more Thaiglish. She´s attending school here in Germany to learn the language, but as we only see us 15mins. in the morning and about 90 mins. in the evening it´s still quicker to hear and get all the necessary info in our own created language. The daghter listens to this crap all the time and so it´s our fault. We now have an apointment with a specialist to sort that out

Keep sticking to German with your daughter. If you're in Germany and she's in school, that won't be a problem. Really try to get your wife to use only Thai with her. It doesn't matter so much what is used between you and your wife.

People tend to think that being multilingual is not the norm, but in fact being monolingual is much less common. Your daughter should work out that what goes on between Mum and Dad is only used in that context. But if your wife uses the same kind of mix with your daughter as well, it will become your 'family' language and her Thai and English will suffer.

The main thing is to have clear boundaries about which language is to be used in which situation.

[Mossfinn]

Wife/Myself = English

Myself/Boy = English

Wife/Boy = Thai

I had heard that speaking to a baby in two languages would only confuse them, having listened to the comments on here, I am glad we ignored it.

Moss

[Eneukman]

My ability to speak Thai is still fairly limited, but when I can I will speak Thai. Otherwise I have to resort to English.

If all else fails, I will resort to http://www.thai-language.com/dict/ Whilst good, it is not totally foolproof.

Alan

[meemiathai]

Our daughter is three now and she has problems to speak properly. Even I told my wife to only speak Thai with the children it was quite often a mix of Thai/English/German, all in one sentence .I only speak German to my daughter, but I don´t speak proper German to my wife. It used to be English but now it´s more Thaiglish. She´s attending school here in Germany to learn the language, but as we only see us 15mins. in the morning and about 90 mins. in the evening it´s still quicker to hear and get all the necessary info in our own created language. The daghter listens to this crap all the time and so it´s our fault. We now have an apointment with a specialist to sort that out

Give her a break!

She is not in a hurry to accomplish anything before any age, is she? She is 3 only!

[WaiWai]

as we only see us 15mins. in the morning and about 90 mins. in the evening it´s still quicker to hear and get all the necessary info in our own created language. The daghter listens to this crap all the time and so it´s our fault. We now have an apointment with a specialist to sort that out

That's really very interesting (I would love it if you could give some examples) and must happen quite frequently now.

Your child will be fine. I do agree that you should ask your wife to be more careful with the language she uses with your daughter. She has a real chance of being genuinely bi-lingual; maybe tri-lingual.

Do tell us what the specialist says.

Edited November 11, 2007 by WaiWai

[grazer]

I speak a kind of Thaiglish (or more correctly ThaiLaoglish) with my wife but she goes through phases where she only wants me to speak English. She laughs at me when I use a Thai word or phrase that I've learned independently of her. I sometimes find it easier to just say the Thai or Lao phrase rather than the English phrase. "ao mai" or "ao bor" being the best examples. Sometimes at work I've started to say something to a colleague and then had to stop and start again because I've been about to use a Thai phrase rather than English.