Multilingual

“I read, write and speak five languages fluently: English, German, Swiss-German, Visayan and Spanish. I also know basic French as well. Being multilingual is a huge advantage, most especially with the languages you learn from birth. Being of mixed race, it is very important for a child to know where she/he comes from, even if the child is not living in that place”, shares Filipino-Swiss Rahel Stucki.

Speaking your mother tongue to your child from birth onwards is an easy way to learn a language. “I would highly encourage parents to never refrain from doing so, especially at the most crucial time when young children are absorbing everything so well. It is also such a waste if a parents don’t pass their language on to their child”, she says. “From my experience, another important reason for parents to speak their mother tongue to their children is that language is absolutely part of one’s heritage/culture”.

Growing up in Switzerland, Rahel was encouraged to speak English amongst siblings, which she disliked in the beginning since it felt so unnatural when she was used to speaking Swiss-German to them. “We however were all taught by our mother Elsa (nee Chiu) to speak Visayan and this was such an advantage for us. I remember that I would never feel like a stranger when we would visit our relatives in the Philippines during summer vacations. I could even have conversations with my neighbors and never felt alienated. I never missed out on anything; it was absolutely wonderful! Of course, this came in handy when we eventually moved back to Cebu when I was 9 years old. My father Daniel on the other hand speaks English and Swiss-German to us without fail. But I am very thankful that this practice was never neglected, it is something that you would appreciate when you are older”.

Rahel shares about a time when the Visayan language was made highly important when she was living in Switzerland in her early years. “I know that only a part of the Philippines can speak Visayan, but this should not be underestimated. To my surprise, I was able to benefit from this as an interpreter, for rare languages in Switzerland are always in demand to help out the police, border control or courts. One time, I was happy to help out a fellow Filipino in need in a foreign country and they are usually shocked to hear me speak in fluent Visayan in a Swiss court or police station and at the same time, relieved to have a Filipina with them. At the same time, I also gained work experience to add to my resume”.

“Being multilingual helps me understand the culture and mind-set, and this advantage comes naturally. I cannot even explain it. I guess that being spoken to by your parents in their mother tongues make it easier to understand what ‘mixed race’ really means, thus coming to terms with being from different worlds”, Rahel shares.

Rahel admits that being taught a language or several languages from birth will never get confusing as it comes naturally. “You just never ask any questions. You just pick it up quickly and don’t realize consciously that you are learning it. You just work it out in your head and organize the words accordingly and from there, you distinguish what language goes where. It was no big deal, if one person didn’t understand me, then I’d try another language. Parents shouldn’t worry about confusing their child with many languages because as a multilingual myself, this just doesn’t happen. However, my parents always had language rules for us: (1) always answer in the language you were addressed in and (2) don’t mix two or more languages in the same sentence. I just think that if you can introduce your child to your language from birth onwards, do not hesitate to do so. It’s true, the earlier the better”.

But just as quickly as a child can pick up a language, they also pick up the mistakes. “This is why it is so important that attention is being paid to the fact that whatever language is being heard (i.e. spoken by someone else) is correct, because the mistakes that are picked up are often difficult to correct later on. The more exposure a child gets to the ‘correct’ form of speaking, the better he/she will be able to use it. Naturally, the parents are the best persons to transfer their mother tongue onto their children”, she says.

Rahel however didn’t learn Spanish and French directly from her parents. “I admit that I had to learn these languages just like everyone else: the endless memorizing of grammatical rules, their exceptions and vocabulary lists in comparison to absorbing a language that comes directly from your parents. Parents on the other hand should never force their child to study a whole new language from scratch if the child doesn’t show interest. This may make them despise the new language. No one forced me to learn Spanish and French, I just showed interest in learning it”.

I’d also like to extend my wishes to the JUNE kiddie birthday celebrators:

3rd   – Ines Sarmiento turns 8

8th   – Elizabeth Tan turns 3

            and Luigi Ouano turns 10

13th – Noah Tan turns 5

17th – Lucia Huete turns 3

20th – Harvey Kekert turns 2