Don't Eat My Buchela! - Raising a Multi-lingual Child

Poop in Three Languages (7 comments)

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 04:45:00 -0700

Buchela recognizes the words for stool in three languages. Poop in English. Choachola in Chinese. Caca in Amharic. If I say any of these words, he would touch his diaper and shakes his head yes or no. He also uttered his first Chinese word a few weeks ago. Ayi means auntie. Kids here refer to their caretakers as Ayi. Buchela heard other kids say it so he began repeating it too. This said, his vocabulary is still very very limited. He has been a man of a few words so far.

From ABCs to ... (16 comments)

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 23:32:00 -0700

Before I became a parent, I noticed that way too many kids, born to Ethiopian parents and raised in a foreign country, do not speak Amharic or any other native languages. This observation bothered me deeply. Now that I have a baby, the idea that he may not speak my native tongue worries me. So, I am working on tackling the issue and addressing it as early as possible. I basically try to always speak to him in Amharic. Are you a parent? Do you want your kids to learn Amharic? Do you know a parent who has successfully taught their kids how to speak an Ethiopian language? Do you think it matters? Should we just let our kids learn English and that is it? What do you guys think? I am curious.

Buchela's First Amharic Word (6 comments)

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:09:00 -0700

Drum rolls please.... He said "indyee!" I suppose because I am always saying it to him in lieu of actually using the word "no". Hearing him say it was very funny; it made me laugh hard. I was like "indyee Buchela" and he would say it again knowing it will make me laugh... So we did it over and over and over and over. .... until he stopped and gave me a face that said "ok that is enough mommy! not funny anymore!"