Tuesday, April 8, 2014

21 months (speaking)


David's vocabulary is increasing exponentially and I started to keep a list but have gotten tired of writing it all down! Of course some of the word use he initiates himself, and other words are ones he repeats after us or when prompted. It's exciting when he uses a word we didn't know he knew.

In general David's spoken vocabulary is heavier on the English, but I would say that he comprehends both languages equally well.

Sometimes he shows evidence of being able to differentiate. For example, I will ask where "Daddy" is, and he points to Andrei and says "Papa." Same with "Mommy" and "Mama." If Andrei asks him in Russian where "x" is, he points to the object and names it in English.

One of the more humorous habits he currently has is that he calls all women (and some men) "Mama" and random men "Papa." And this evening he was pointing to triangles on the wallpaper and calling them "Mama" and "Papa." Ummm.....


Word List for anyone interested:


"Oh no"

"No/Yeah" (shakes head no but doesn't nod yes yet)

"All done"

"Mo" (more)

"Muck" (milk)

"Cup"

"Door"

"Clock" (pronounced without the 'l')

"Tuck" (truck)

"Car"

"Book" :)

"Ball"

"Sees" (sit/chair/anything to do with sitting?)

"Mama," "Papa," "Ma-pa," "Pa-ma"

"Tam!" (Russian for "there," used to answer any inquiries as to where something is or what happened to it or used to give directions)

"Spsssps" (Spasibo,=thank you)/ "Takoo" (thank you)

"Poka/Bye!"

Various articles of clothing, various body parts



Compared to 2 months ago that's quite a change. But it's kind of sad that he's already losing some of those cute sound effects!



5 comments:

  1. Its a short but a meaningful post. Thanks for sharing it. God Bless! TheFamily

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  2. Love this! Just about like Monnie - I think she has almost precisely the same vocabulary and also uses the "mama" for all women... I try to be "Ma" with Nastya being "Mama", but to Monnie is probably just means "woman". Monnie is crazy about the word "ball" to Craig's delight, and she has other
    words like "tree" and "flower"...but mostly she says the first sound....so actually "book" and "bottle" sound the same. It is SO MUCH FUN, though! Love this stage!

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  3. Yes, my MIL is currently "Mama" as well.

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  4. It'd be interesting to read an update on David's speech development. We're a Russian couple trying to raise our daughter bilingual. At first her English was ahead of her Russian (that's what I've been speaking to her since she was born), but then she started kindergarten in December, and her Russian has been progressing so fast. I have mixed feelings about this, but I guess what matters most is what language they use when they communicate with someone their age (which is Russian in our case). Anyway, I just wanted to say, it's been interesting reading your blog. Stay warm, the summer with its white nights is coming soon!

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  5. Hello Svetlana, thanks for asking, I'll see if I can write an update. I didn't catch whether you were in Russia or not, but my feeling is that the non-dominant language should be given an advantage. If you're in a Russian-speaking environment, then you need to find a way to get more English into your child's day. I know what you mean about the mixed feelings. I think as they get older, the language of their peers is EASIEST to keep up with, and the language of their parents might seem uncool, so there really needs to be an incentive to keep using it. Your English seems native, so I'm sure you are teaching your daughter well!

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