Re: Specifics (was Re: Personal langs and convers

> Date:         Wed, 7 Feb 2001 13:46:52 -0500
> From: Brian Phillips <deepbluehalo@...>
>   I also intend to raise kids with multiple languages. At least trilingual.
> Demographically the best "common" tongues are Mandarin and English
> (population wise) and then the two "odd children". ASL becuase it is so
> different, and Esperanto because it's the only widely used conlang.
>   I will likely continue to travel in retirement and so I suspect that the
> kids might pick up some other stuff from wherever we happen to be staying.
Now, this sounds very much like you intend to teach the kids two or
three of those languages yourself.

That's not the way it happens in natural multilingualism. I think you
need to have separate persons interacting with the children in the
different languages, or they simply won't have the necessary clues to
keep them apart.

I still don't think you'd be able to harm them by trying, but you'll
likely just make them ignore you and concentrate on the language their
friends speak. Or their mother, if your plans have a place for her.

Lars Mathiesen (U of Copenhagen CS Dep) <thorinn@...> (Humour NOT marked)