Friday 9 May 2008

Speaking in Tongues

La Fille's English has improved enormously since we began Channel-hopping and she realised her mother was not the only person to speak it nor that I was being difficult by insisting she did. I never doubted I was doing the right thing giving up work to bring her to the UK regularly; it has been enormous fun and a huge success on the linguistic front. We've had our moments: if I have explained once I've explained a thousand times that Noddy is a little English toy and not the French-speaking Oui-Oui whose best friend is Big Ears not Potiron (Pumpkin). Dora the Explorer rhymes. Dora l'Exploratrice does not. And the bloody mouse is really Maisy not Mimi. In any case, she now shouts at me in English, screams at her Father in French and sometimes does one after the other to show she can.

Unfortunately she has picked up some strange phrases for a three-year-old in English. These include:

"Just give me five minutes"

"Shhhhh I'm on the telephone"

"Now, listen to me"

"Sorry, I can't do it right now, I'm busy"

"You are beginning to annoy me"

"I'm very cross with you"

"That's really not funny", and the classic that has everyone - except me - rolling about:

"Just give me a break, will you?"

I really don't know where she gets it from.

6 comments:

Dumdad said...

Wow, her English is really coming along. Just as long as she doesn't pick up on Vicky Pollard....

Working Mum said...

LOL! Scary how our phrases come back at us from the mouths of babes!

Dumdad said...

There's an award awaiting you over at my blog.

Laura Jane Williams said...

Just hopped over from 'dumdad' to view a fellow award-winner... sounds like your little one is just gorgeous! (Note to self: still too young for babies of my own...*sigh*)

love girlwiththemask x

Parisgirl said...

Thanks everyone. La Fille has just come out with another. It was: "How many times do I have to tell you?"
Too right working mum, out of the mouths of babes.

Hesperia Carpenters said...

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