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Se habla confused

The Munchkin is apparently learning some Spanish from Sesame Street. However, it doesn’t always get translated for her or gets used in the correct context. For example:

(at breakfast)
The Munchkin: Mommy, I wan’ more toast, please.
Me: (handing her half a slice with jam on it) Here you go, sweetie.
The Munchkin: Hola!
Me: (trying not to laugh) Do you know what “hola” means?
The Munchkin: Umm, no.

The other language that I’m trying to expose her to is, of course, Japanese. I should probably wait to start teaching her words, but when we read my old copy of Taro Yashima’s Umbrella, I couldn’t help telling her that the Japanese word for umbrella is kasa.

The Webmaster, who took Spanish in high school, promptly confused her by insisting that it really meant house (even though it’s spelled differently – the letter “c” does not exist in Japanese). Of course, the kid is just learning English, so maybe all of this is a little premature.

We still like reading Umbrella, though.

2 Responses to “Se habla confused”

  1. Oddball
    April 6th, 2006 08:56
    1

    Teach her Spanish. She’ll need it more the way Congress is going, thanks to the Democrats.

  2. Mormondaddy
    April 6th, 2006 23:23
    2

    I speak spanish fluently… I would love to teach it to my children, though I don’t know if I’m dedicated enough to put the time into doing it.