What to do with multilingual parents in Switzerland/Spain?
Hello dear GF community
I have heard that if a bilingual couple is raising a child and the child is to be able to speak both languages as fluently as possible, both parents should speak to the child in their native language.
Now the starting point is somewhat different: One parent speaks Swiss German, the other Spanish. How should such a couple proceed so that their child learns Spanish, German, and Swiss German as accurately as possible? For those unfamiliar: In Switzerland, people speak Swiss German, but write and read in Standard German. Swiss German is not just an accent, but a dialect quite distinct from Standard German. (An example here on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpx5HH4Usxs&pp=ygULa2Fzc2Vuc3R1cno%3D )
I am specifically asking not only for opinions, but also for advice from people who understand something about language education.
Thank you in advance for the useful contributions.
(1 votes)
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If the family lives in Switzerland and the parents speak Swiss German and Spanish, I do not know how the child can learn German/High German without accents. Because you also write that German is only read and written at school. So there is no active speech.
Otherwise, the parents have their own language consistent have to talk to the child.
Even small children are already grounded: Remember that it is different, they could choose the more comfortable way/the more pleasant language. 😉
Thank you for your answer. I left an important info: The family lives in Spain and the father speaks mainly high German with the mother, as she hardly understands Swiss German. Where the child is to be trained later is still unclear. Does this change the approach? Thank you.
Since the mother of Swiss German hardly understands, her mother tongue is Spanish and that of the father Swiss German – right?
The child also learns Spanish “outside”, but of course also from the mother.
However, since it is important that the father masters both German and Swiss German, I do not know whether the child is both speak but understand it will be both German versions.
The place of residence does not change the approach, both must speak with it in their language. It remains to be seen how the child takes up the language of the parents among themselves.