Darcey in Mussoorie, India
Jun 27, 2014 8:42:07 GMT 9
Post by Darcey on Jun 27, 2014 8:42:07 GMT 9
My name is Darcey and I'm an adult third culture mishmash: born in the United States, married to a Canadian, currently residing in North India (where my daughter was born 8 months ago). We come from Anglophone backgrounds, but have ties to French (via Canada), Spanish (my husband's father was born in a Spanish-speaking country, and that side of the family still speaks Spanish and has family in that country), and Hindi (from living in India) and Mandarin (my focal language of study and choice). I've studied languages for most of my life, both in school and as an autodidact, so it came as second nature that we would raise our daughter speaking a second language.
We have an ayah (maid) who comes every day for a few hours, and she speaks to my daughter in Hindi; Hindi is also the language outside the home for 75% of interactions. We generally speak English at home, but have picked Spanish as our next language to focus on because we have more access to speakers and family ties to that - and since I've never studied it myself, I am learning as we also work to teach the wee one! We have done less OPOL because of that, and it's usually activity/area-focused language. OPOL is for Hindi with our ayah... and eventually I'd like to have dinner and other things be in Spanish and English comes along with the family interactions. We know for a fact Chinese will be added in a few years when we move (hopefully to Beijing).
A couple facts about me, as Adam did... hmm.
*I speak Danish fluently, but we won't be raising the kidlet to speak it because it's a language I learned as an adolescent, and she would only use it with me. We have no family that speaks Danish, nor any community to do it in.
*I knit like a fiend.
We have an ayah (maid) who comes every day for a few hours, and she speaks to my daughter in Hindi; Hindi is also the language outside the home for 75% of interactions. We generally speak English at home, but have picked Spanish as our next language to focus on because we have more access to speakers and family ties to that - and since I've never studied it myself, I am learning as we also work to teach the wee one! We have done less OPOL because of that, and it's usually activity/area-focused language. OPOL is for Hindi with our ayah... and eventually I'd like to have dinner and other things be in Spanish and English comes along with the family interactions. We know for a fact Chinese will be added in a few years when we move (hopefully to Beijing).
A couple facts about me, as Adam did... hmm.
*I speak Danish fluently, but we won't be raising the kidlet to speak it because it's a language I learned as an adolescent, and she would only use it with me. We have no family that speaks Danish, nor any community to do it in.
*I knit like a fiend.
Very positive podcast review of my book Bilingual Success Stories Around the World at Kletsheads 
