Amazing kids..
Discussion
I am always amazed spending time with my neighbours kid, at 2.5 she has no fear and could speak and understand 2 languages, English and her fathers native tongue, he is from Ghana.
Now 3 she can have a conversation, basic, but conversation with me, which just tickles me.
Tonight spent the evening at a bbq with an Egyptian friend, some of his family, his wife's friend, 6 kids, including their 3 year old.
A proper mix of people, us English, more Egyptian and the wife and her friend, both from Ukraine.
The 3 year old daughter blew me away tbh, speaking and understanding, Russian, Arabic and English.
My partner who works in the field says both are on the SEN spectrum, behaviour is a problem along with crazy energy levels, but how do the little brains take in all this language?
Mine can't and has never been able to, anything I do learn language wise in gone the next day.
Just rambling after a beautiful day, be interested to hear about other amazing kids though.
Now 3 she can have a conversation, basic, but conversation with me, which just tickles me.
Tonight spent the evening at a bbq with an Egyptian friend, some of his family, his wife's friend, 6 kids, including their 3 year old.
A proper mix of people, us English, more Egyptian and the wife and her friend, both from Ukraine.
The 3 year old daughter blew me away tbh, speaking and understanding, Russian, Arabic and English.
My partner who works in the field says both are on the SEN spectrum, behaviour is a problem along with crazy energy levels, but how do the little brains take in all this language?
Mine can't and has never been able to, anything I do learn language wise in gone the next day.
Just rambling after a beautiful day, be interested to hear about other amazing kids though.
Derry Rhumba said:
You ok Hun?
PMSL, More sober and less sunstroke this morning lol.3 year old speaking several languages intrigues me , probably because of my own inability to learn language at all.
The one here in Egypt picking up English with an Egyptian father and Ukrainian mother baffled me last night lol.
captain_cynic said:
Yep, this is the place where you complain that at 2 you had 6 jobs, 2 PHDs and ran your first 28 companies, kids these days... lazy... pull themselves up by their bootstaps... and speaking a foreign language at that... gone to the dogs.
While paying 20% on your mortgage. Doesitdrive said:
PMSL, More sober and less sunstroke this morning lol.
3 year old speaking several languages intrigues me , probably because of my own inability to learn language at all.
The one here in Egypt picking up English with an Egyptian father and Ukrainian mother baffled me last night lol.
Your inability to learn a language now. At 2/3 years old you pick stuff up a lot easier, how do you think they learn English in the first place, particularly all those swear words we try very hard not to teach them?3 year old speaking several languages intrigues me , probably because of my own inability to learn language at all.
The one here in Egypt picking up English with an Egyptian father and Ukrainian mother baffled me last night lol.
A friend of mine is French, married to a half Chinese girl, and they both lived in England when they had a kid. The kid would speak French with his dad, Chinese with his mum and English at school. The only issues were when he'd meet new people and not realise he'd say words they don't understand...
Doesitdrive said:
but how do the little brains take in all this language?
Mine can't and has never been able to, anything I do learn language wise in gone the next day.
That's not true. Like people who say they can't do maths or whatever. Whilst some people find learning certain things harder than others, everyone can do it, (pre existing brain injury excepted) if you're prepared to devote the hours and put in the hard graft, which most of us aren't.Mine can't and has never been able to, anything I do learn language wise in gone the next day.
I guarantee, if you were taken hostage by a foreign terrorist group and told you had to learn the basics of their language in 6 months or they'd execute you, with nothing else to do all day and with tuition, you'd learn it.
But I agree about the young kids. I know a few bilingual kids, aged under 5, with 2-4 languages they can speak, and it's awe inspiring.
The brain changes quite a bit as you get older. If you want to understand it, I'd recommend 'The Idea of the Brain' by Matthew Cobb. Not exactly light reading by any means but very comprehensive. Whilst I've forgotten almost everything it says, in terms of how the brain matures it points out that, for example, the part of the brain that enjoys delayed gratification (i.e. enjoying waiting for something, rather than wanting it immediately) doesn't fully develop until you're about 21. Alternatively the bit of the brain that deals with language is most active when you're very young.
My other main take away was that for all the progress we've made in neuroscience, we've still got barely any idea how brains work. To make life easier, scientists looked for an easier brain to study than the human brain, so you're thinking maybe a mouse or a fruit fly or something. Instead they ended up studying a lobster stomach, which as 16 neurons. Could they work out how 16 neurons work rather than the billions in your mind? Nope. Which is why i take the term 'Artificial Intelligence' with a huge pinch of salt. We've essentially no idea how intelligence works, so to say we've recreated it is somewhat optimistic.
My other main take away was that for all the progress we've made in neuroscience, we've still got barely any idea how brains work. To make life easier, scientists looked for an easier brain to study than the human brain, so you're thinking maybe a mouse or a fruit fly or something. Instead they ended up studying a lobster stomach, which as 16 neurons. Could they work out how 16 neurons work rather than the billions in your mind? Nope. Which is why i take the term 'Artificial Intelligence' with a huge pinch of salt. We've essentially no idea how intelligence works, so to say we've recreated it is somewhat optimistic.
I think you're starting from a mechanistic assumption that the brain is hardware and loading multiple language software must be difficult.
In reality the infant brain is still developing so hearing and producing sounds is completely natural for the developing brain. The language the child is exposed to builds the neural connections building a brain that can do this easily. The additional work the infant has to do, compared with a monoglot experience, is work out what words/language to use in each situation. Quite a lot of kids make up nonsense languages which are used between siblings and impenetrable to their parents showing that there is a lot of redundancy built in.
Learning multiple languages has advantages for general intelligence and other learning
In reality the infant brain is still developing so hearing and producing sounds is completely natural for the developing brain. The language the child is exposed to builds the neural connections building a brain that can do this easily. The additional work the infant has to do, compared with a monoglot experience, is work out what words/language to use in each situation. Quite a lot of kids make up nonsense languages which are used between siblings and impenetrable to their parents showing that there is a lot of redundancy built in.
Learning multiple languages has advantages for general intelligence and other learning
I met a guy at F1 testing who could speak I think he said 8 or 9 different languages, his approach was that there is a core number of words to any language that you need to know to get by, so if you just learn 2 of those a day before long you will be passable and able to understand, he also said that watching the news in the language you were trying to learn was a great way of expanding your understanding because visually you will be able to see what they are reporting on
I read something a while back that to be better than 95% of the world at anything all you need to do is practice it for 15 minutes a day...
I read something a while back that to be better than 95% of the world at anything all you need to do is practice it for 15 minutes a day...
One of our grandsons who is 2.5 , can understand everything and communicates well by using a totally made up language he appears to speak . His 5 year old brother and all of us speak English. He appears to fluently speak an unknown language with common words and phrases. But all unintelligible to us .
Think Clangers for those old enough to know .
Think Clangers for those old enough to know .
Pica-Pica said:
Most kids from 2 years old can be brought up bilingual, in many parts of the world it is fairly common. My grandchildren could speak English and Japanese from when they first started talking.
Yup. Kids are sponges at that age. If they can learn one language relatively easily, they can learn two or three. My cousin has a Swiss father and an English mother and was bought up in Switzerland. His English is perfect, better than a lot of English people
Funny thing is his Swiss wife also speaks fluent English as a second language, but has an American accent.
Edited by 98elise on Thursday 23 July 14:37
Yep. My granddaughters have a French mother and were bilingual from the cradle. They are young adults now and have all added fluent Spanish to their repertoire.
But it's 'use it or lose it' for many people.
My first language as a child (shared with my sister) was Gaelic but I can no longer speak it with any confidence or fluency. She has completely lost it. We both learned English alongside it because my dad had not a word of the Gaelic.
I have respectable French and Spanish, but since I haven't had occasion to speak Norwegian since around 1985 I am now very rusty, where once I was pretty fluent.
I mostly learned it from the television and by reading quality newspapers for vocabulary.
I did German at grammar school but I no longer speak it, although I can still read technical texts which is handy occasionally.
I was often amazed by Dutch children especially. Even pre-schoolies speaking English as well as Dutch and maybe another language of the Netherlands. As someone already said, kids are like sponges.
But it's 'use it or lose it' for many people.
My first language as a child (shared with my sister) was Gaelic but I can no longer speak it with any confidence or fluency. She has completely lost it. We both learned English alongside it because my dad had not a word of the Gaelic.
I have respectable French and Spanish, but since I haven't had occasion to speak Norwegian since around 1985 I am now very rusty, where once I was pretty fluent.
I mostly learned it from the television and by reading quality newspapers for vocabulary.
I did German at grammar school but I no longer speak it, although I can still read technical texts which is handy occasionally.
I was often amazed by Dutch children especially. Even pre-schoolies speaking English as well as Dutch and maybe another language of the Netherlands. As someone already said, kids are like sponges.
Doesitdrive said:
PMSL, More sober and less sunstroke this morning lol.
3 year old speaking several languages intrigues me , probably because of my own inability to learn language at all.
The one here in Egypt picking up English with an Egyptian father and Ukrainian mother baffled me last night lol.
Sorry mate, I just couldn't help myself.....feel a bit bad about the comment now.3 year old speaking several languages intrigues me , probably because of my own inability to learn language at all.
The one here in Egypt picking up English with an Egyptian father and Ukrainian mother baffled me last night lol.
I actually get exactly what you mean 100%, glad your new life, (unless I've got that completely wrong?) is working out well!
Edit to add......It WAS you that relocated out of the Uk wasn't it?
Starting to worry I'm gong mad.*
- Also posted this on Mumsnet.
Edited by Derry Rhumba on Friday 24th July 08:21
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