Norwegian Speaking Week
One of the things we've decided that we really want to do when we have kids (No, this is not an announcement) is to raise them bilingually. However, this would most likely require actually speaking Norwegian both to them and to each other, which is something we don't do as much as you might think. Sure, we probably say something in Norwegian to each other more or less every day, we listen to Norwegian music, and occasionally watch Norwegian movies (we don't have very many), but mostly Norwegian has become a sort of secret language for us. Anyone who speaks another (preferably obscure) language knows what I'm talking about.
Then Annika (a good friend from at home in Norway) came to stay with us, our household language switched completely. Annika and I mostly spoke Norwegian to each other, and then we would both turn around and speak Norwegian to Nick, and the cycle continued. It was great.
I was actually surprised at how good it felt to speak my own language so much. I was raised bilingually, and so I've spoken English since I was about seven months old (No, really. Ask my mum), so I've never really considered one as being "more me" than the other. It might be because English is the norm for me now, and Norwegian is just some party trick I pull out every once in a while. In all honesty, being able to speak that much Norwegian for so long really felt like I was able to unlock a part of myself that doesn't get out much. Just using words and expressions that few people here understand, and that I haven't spoken in a long time felt so good. Befriende, om du vil :)
I honestly don't know what I would have done had I married someone who didn't understand that part of me, who didn't talk to me about what Bergen smells like after the rain, someone who doesn't know about buying strawberries at the town square and eating them på Skibladnerbrygga, or the sound the train makes across the bridge on the way in to Oslo. Someone who knows the parts of me that make me who I am. Oh, whatever would I do without my Nick? :)
Ah what a nice lil blog. I think I shall learn Norwegian next so I can know that little part of you! heheh j/k Im not that ambitious. I can understand the bilingual upbringing. A LOT of families do that here. Not only are kids taught in school...the parents teach it at home. On of my fav moms only speaks English to her kids(she is American) and the fater only speaks Dutch to them! It works great!
ReplyDeleteHey, what's Bergen? Clay's cousins have a baby named Bergen...
ReplyDeleteI think that would be rad if you guys had bi-lingual kids. I've heard that it works best if one parent is all English and the other is all the second language. Otherwise the kids end up speaking a smoosh of both languages (Norglish?). But I've never done it, what do I know? Did your folks primarily speak one language or did they both speak both?
Tospråklig er bra, Tammy! Jeg har alltid ønska at jeg var tospråkllig på et vis, men med mor fra Ottestad og far fra Løten så ble det heller dårlig:) hihi...
ReplyDeleteHusker godt du og Jeremy begynte i barnehagen - det var jo kjempespennende for dere snakka jo innimellom engelsk. Oj...det er lenge siden nå altså!!
Ønsker deg og din kjære en hyggelig jul:)
Klem fra Merete
Jeg oppdaget akkurat denne kommentaren fra deg, så koselig! Det var jo i Fredly barnehage at jeg og Jeremy lærte norsk, så det husker jeg godt også. Jeg pleide å "ta med meg" ord som jeg hadde hørt den dagen hjem, så jeg kunne spørre foreldrene mine hva de betydde for noe. Vi lekte jo mye sammen, så du var med å gjøre meg tospråklig du også :)
ReplyDelete