Dear Katarina, Yes, I can relate, at least to a good extent. My situation is a little different, but I'll be so bold as to make a few comments.
First, it's probably obvious, but bears repeating that the more input a child has for a language, the better the child will learn that language. That said, there's no rule that you have to go to great lengths to pass Swedish on to your children, even though I would think it great if you were able to pass on at least some. Second, speaking is not the same as understanding. I usually don't pay attention to what language my children are speaking but just keep on answering them in Esperanto (sometimes saying dumb things like asking them how to say a word in Esperanto while I say even that word in Esperanto too - they get a little mad.) In fact, if you can maintain the current situation in which she continues to understand the Swedish and answer in English, then you will have what a lot of parents would love to have -- a child who understands without yelling "just say it in English!!" :-) Third, passive use of a language is just a few small steps from active. The entire language is still "in there" and will come out if the situation requires it -- such as these visits to family you mentioned. > She likes to read books and most books are in > English and I really don't want to get rid of > them, but I read in English and then talk to her > about it in Swedish. She shows no signs of being > confused, but I am a bit! I can especially relate here. It gets harder as they learn to read. I also struggle with being able to share American jokes with my kids (I live in and grew up in the US). In the end, I try not to make a big deal about it, although I spend a lot of time explaining different things like "this is what we say in Esperanto and this is what we say in English" because they need to know both -- but even that can be overdone. Amike salutas, Thomas/Tomaso ALEXANDER. www.NightinGael.Net ---Anything below this line is not from Thomas --- __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com Visit http://www.multilingualmunchkins.com. Home of the Multilingual Munchkins Playgroup Database. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/multilingualmunchkin/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/multilingualmunchkin/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
