Bringing Up Bilingual Children:1

Introduction

I feel I am very lucky. I grew up fluent in Punjabi and Hindi and even learnt to read and write these languages. Although I am slow in translation – I would consider myself a fluent speaker. After having my son I have become acutely aware of how much my son is acquiring these languages and his ongoing development in them.   I hope that the information on this site about bilingualism is useful for you.

From the Beginning

For my parents who were first-generation immigrants, the transition was an easy one.  Their natural forms of communication were derived largely from the back home. Conversations were mostly in Punjabi and occasionally they were painfully in broken English.  Often the language of choice at home was my parental mother tongue with smatterings of English.

English was the language of the school.  Our ‘home’ language was very much a separate and distinct entity and kept us in touch with the motherland.  Our parents in misty-eyed remembrance recounted tales of Eastern promise and grandeur. They failed to recount the idiosyncrasies of a culture made up of disparate peoples.  From where we hailed there were over 350 languages  and a myriad of different cultures.

They laughed fondly at the mannerisms of what they saw as ‘innocent, hardworking  people’, of which we too were supposed to be proud of. But they conveniently ignored the obvious disparity and ever increasing gap between British Asian children that the West had nurtured and the country that had long been left behind. Our parents  argued, they had physically moved away from their ‘Des’ but their souls remained there forever more.

Unfortunately,  or perhaps more appropriately, most second and third generation Asians have no such links with the homeland of their parents and lineage. We may visit often and keep in touch with our relatives but our homes are here.

Our concerns are altogether different. Second and third generations are focused on how we can assimilate into the British way of life and do the same for our children.  We want to do this but still retain some of the culture that we have been raised with.

What we want for our children, although different to the first-generation immigrants;  is to instil a subtle appreciation for our heritage and ancestral background.  We want our children to have the ability to converse in a language that we have grown up with and perhaps occasionally endured . But mostly we fondly remember and use our knowledge of our ‘home’ languages appropriately depending on whom we are socialising with.

It is difficult to imagine for those of us who have grown up confident in two or more languages not to have that easy and natural ability to be able to communicate in our ‘native tongue’.  The big challenge arises when we think about how language is picked up and learned by children who see both parents conversed mostly in English and occasionally in the language of their parents.

Recently this has been troubling me.  Since the birth of my son my husband and I, including the wider family have made a conscientious effort to ensure he learns the fundamentals of Punjabi.  He understands it, and he appreciates Bollywood! (Although I’m not entirely sure how much of the Hindi he comprehends.)

However since his immersion in nursery and the English language from most of the day, he converses less frequently with us in Punjabi.  He may occasionally utter certain words and makes up the sentences, but he predominantly communicates in English.  I frequently switch to conversing in Punjabi with him when I remember to,  and I promise myself that we will do as much as we can in order to develop his language skills. It feels like a duty  as well as a passion. I feel I must impart this knowledge on to him – not necessarily to keep our culture and heritage alive and well,  but also so that he can reap the obvious educational benefits that come from being Bilingual and Trilingual. These are clearly outlined in the following chapters.

I feel there is a considerable ‘lack’ of appropriate books for parents to aid them in developing their child’s language skills. DVDs are few and far between,  and those DVD’S that do constitute acceptable viewing, are often heavily ‘religious’ in nature or are just not interesting enough for the discerning youngsters we have today. Religious DVDs may include “The Mahabarata” “Oh My Friend Ganesha”  “Krishna” etc. these are often geared at a Hindi speaking audience and I have yet to find an appropriate Punjabi DVD that my son can learn from

There are sites that have Hindi options: for example at http://www.hindikids.com .  They try to cater for this market , but the quality of books can often be questionable.  There is often the English written with the Hindi , Punjabi , Bengali or Gujerati script.  But the problem arises if you’re not proficient in the written language. This can be a tricky thing when trying to teach your children to converse in your chosen community language.

Accessibility for children to the language can be significantly hindered as parents have no real option but to translate English on the spot.  I often take my Son’s favourite books like The Gruffalo or Three Little Pigs and translate them when I am reading to him – but this is less than ideal in many ways.  Trying to translate as you are reading a child’s favourite story into your community language can often make the process seem stilted and hesitant:  It considerably lacks the flow of a natural voice.

I want something neutral and fun and hopefully it won’t be long before publishers respond to the increasing NRI and NRP demand.

1. What is Happening to Minority Languages?: 2
2. Why Should We Teach Our Children Minority Languages?: 3