Tara Translates

"There was one in the bed and the little one said: 'I'm cold! I miss you!'"

(20m-3wk)

Tara's vocabulary is growing rapidly, and while I've not yet managed to write up comprehensive, language specific lists (time! effort!), I'm keeping up with messy notes in a big messy pile, waiting to be sorted tomorrow (I swear!).

It's becoming apparent now that she's aware that she knows more than one word for some things. I still feel that one word, any language, will remain dominant for one thing, for a period of time, and that she will use that word in any context then. For example, a favourite snack, milk foam and biscuits has been 'Milch und Kekse' for as long as she's been enjoying them at home, even while she know that 'milk' or 'leche y galletas' was the same. This last week, however, she's started calling it consistently 'milk'. I suspect it's got something to do with nursery. Every time, in fact, when a German word goes out the window to be replaced with an English one, I suspect it has something to do with nursery.
Two weeks ago, I fought a proper battle to rescue her German rag doll's 'name', Püppi. She was beginning to call every doll Baby, I was not impressed and made sure I talked a lot about 'PÜPPI' for a week, making clear it was this one particular doll I meant. I'm proud to say that I did manage to rescue Püppi's name Püppi, and that Baby now remains 'Baby,' and Püppi 'Püppi'. But it was a job and a half.

But back to her translating words.
We read a book (above). A little one throws all his toys out of bed, and then feels cold and misses them. Tara goes to sleep with nearly all her friends too, so she can relate ;-). The book is a song, so I don't translate but sing it her in English. When it says: "I'm cold! I miss you!" Tara tends to throw a little "kalt!" in. For now, when she talks about something being cold, she does so in German.
Today I sang her: Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken... She listened carefully and then commented 'at. Hat in its most British pronunciation, with a beautiful, barely audible glottal 'h'. Little English girl that she is, stylish hats are talked about in English (It's a word she's picked up at her old nursery ages ago, from another English song, "Miss Polly had a dolly").
There was another translation, but I can't find my little note in my messy pile, d*** f***.

Which reminds me, she is also very good at interpreting the things she hears, and repeating them after me in her own fashion. Mummy says S***, Tara says, Sit! Sit down! Mummy says S*** a lot these days. When mummy goes German and says SCH***** instead, Tara has no known word to relate it to, so likes to echo back a tentative imitation: Chei-che. Bad mothering, mummy! Now, I'll leave it all up to you to work out what I said to get Tara to repeat FIFI KAKE.