It seems like yesterday that I published the blog post where I talked about Klara’s development of languages for months 18 to 24. Now six months on her language has continued to leap forward and there is plenty more for me to write about. Her sentences became longer very quickly, she started mixing Serbian and English to an extent and she has shown how very receptive her little brain is towards learning a third language.
Sentences getting longer
I remember being amazed by the three-word sentences Klara used to make when she was 23 months old. Since then, the length of her sentences has progressively grown and now, I no longer count how long they are. She progressed very quickly from ‘Mamica drži Klarici ruku’ (Mama is holding Klara’s hand), ‘Tata otišao po nošu Klarinu’ (Tata went to get Klara’s potty) to ‘Mama, molim te, daj mi još jogurta’ (Mama, can I have some more yoghurt, please). Although with the latter, I still have to remind her to use the magic words ‘molim te’ (please).
Combining languages
One of the most interesting aspects of her growing up and her languages maturing is to see her combine Serbian and English. She doesn’t do it often, but when she does it is so natural, spontaneous and funny that I can’t help but write these expressions down as soon as I hear them. The first time it happened was when she was exactly two years old and she said ‘Hugrljaj’ (Hug + Zagrljaj); then later on she constructed ‘Emica kuca sleepa ovde’ (Ema the dog sleeps in here) and then just a couple of days ago she said to me ‘Ja hikam’ which turned out to be ‘Ja štucam’ (I’m hiccupping).
As you can imagine, these fusions brighten up our lockdown days. The one that impressed me the most was when she said ‘Ja sam ljuta’ (I am angry). She then paused and just when I was about to ask why she was angry, she said ‘Od paprike sam ljuta’ (Pepper made me feel hot). Notice the connection? In Serbian, ‘ljut’ can mean both angry and hot, and Klara blended both meanings into one!
Third language?
Another thing worth mentioning is how receptive she is towards a new, third language. She doesn’t learn a new language as such, but she is surrounded by some French words and expressions. Here is how: As a child, my mum and her family lived in the French speaking countries. When they returned to live in Serbia, they continued using French on occasion in their household. Also, my grandma on my dad’s side was a professor of French language. When we were little, my brother and I were enrolled into French pre-school, and so our family’s French legacy was passed onto us. Consequently, when Klara is upset, I tend to ask her ‘Qu’est-ce qui ce passe?’ (What’s happening?). She started asking me the same thing in French after she turned two.
As of recent, I also play French nursery rhymes to her – the ones I remember learning when I went to French pre-school: ‘Pomme de reinette et pomme d’api’ and ‘Alouette, gentile alouette’. She picked up some words quickly, but more importantly she picked up the French accent which we all know is tricky to acquire. This just proves how children’s young brain is receptive to learning and how she would, if given adequate learning conditions, learn French (or any other language) with a blink of an eye.
Switches between people and languages succesfully
She also continues to switch between languages successfully. You may remember me saying that it was when she was 22 months old that she started addressing me in Serbian and her dad in English. She is now able to switch between languages and people quickly (not just between her parents) knowing exactly who to address and in what language. Back in December, 24-month-old Klara would talk to her dad in English, and then two seconds later she would turn to my mum (who happened to be in the same room) and Klara would initiate a conversation with her in Serbian.
It’s can be tough
This may all sound a bit like a bilingual fairy tale, but trust me, it’s a constant task and it is tough. In London, she now mainly talks in English when her dad is around. In these situations, if she happens to address me in English, I pretend I do not understand her. This method is currently working, but I wonder how quickly I’ll have to come up with new and creative ways to reinforce the importance of the two of us communicating in Serbian.
But it’s so worth it!
I want to end on a positive! Although challenging, raising Klara to be bilingual is an overall great experience and her ability with both languages makes us parents proud of her on a daily basis. Recently Klara and I joined in a Serbian zoom language class organised for Serbian children living in the UK by a lovely Serbian teacher (conscious I’ve used the word Serbian three times in this sentence!). My two-year-old daughter was by far the youngest of all the kids, some of whom were even 10, 11 and 12 years old. Vocabulary chosen for this class (colours, fruits and vegetables and days of the week) was exactly something Klara and I have been working on lately, so she was able to participate in the class like everyone’s peer. This experience left me extremely proud of her Serbian language knowledge, but also of myself! This class was an obvious proof to me that I am doing the right thing by bringing Serbian close to her little mind, as well as (hopefully) to her heart.