can I learn my 3years greek kid to speak serbian if I'll speak only serbian to her and her father only greek?

Question

I' m leaving in Greece,my husband is Greek and whole his family.I speak Greek also.But I want my kid to speak Serbian with her grandparents,cousins in Serbia!I think i't possible,but I'm worry if I'll confuse my 3years old kid with two language at the same time!

Answer 1

Учи га одмалена. Кад сам ја могла грчки савладати са 25 година, може и он српски са три :). Знам какви су Грци, они увијек некако истичу своје, па и требаш да држиш до свог. Обавезно га учи од малена и труди се да развијеш ту љубав и осјећај повезаности са својом породицом и земљом. Срећно!

For albanian: this is not albanian section and nobody is interested in your stupid observations.

Answer 2

A kid can learn a number of languages while they are young, 5 or 6 languages is no problem. Don't worry, the child will not be confused.

After 12 years old, it is very hard to learn new languages.

However, just hearing and speaking the language will make the kid grow up speaking as a child. They need to have some formal training and reading and writing to really speak the language fully.

Answer 3

Actually that is the best way to raise a bilingual child. Have each parent speak to him only in one language. You don't speak Greek to him, and your husband doesn't speak Serbian to him. This is also the best time for him to learn a new language as this the critical stage. Congratulations on trying to raise a well-rounded, educated child!

Answer 4

I grew up with my Mom speaking Spanish and my Dad speaking Hungarian. I learned my English in school, literally.

Children that grow up learning more than one language create different thinking and association patterns. Their way of relating to the world will be very unique.

Because I loved to read, I learned English very quickly. I barely remember my early struggles with it. So, as a suggestion for your child to learn the languages properly, read to them and teach them to read. That way, they will be confident with the sounds they make with their concrete understanding and visual picture of the words in their minds.

My biological Mum was Serbian, actually, so I'm quite jealous of your kid :)

Teach them both languages, and English! The tragedy would be to NOT teach them :)

Answer 5

Yes, you can teach her Serbian this way.
Don't worry about confusing your child; there are many children all over the world who learn two languages while growing up and it doesn't confuse them at all.
I think your daughter will be very fortunate to know two languages.

Answer 6

You want confuse your child. She'll naturally speak with you in one language and her father in another. It's a great benefit to grow up speaking more than one language. I lived in Morocco and had friends whose children spoke German with their mother, English with their father, studied in French, played in Arabic and picked up bits of Spanish from Spanish speaking kids. They were able to change from language to language without confusion and spoke with a perfect accent in each one. Start now before it's too late. The sooner the better.

Answer 7

I have a friend who spoke french to his daughter from the time she was born and she is fluent in french and english now. Your child might get confused sometimes, but young children learn new languages way faster than older children. this is the prime age for her! good luck!

Answer 8

this is the best time to teach your child both languages. i was taught both Greek and English when I was a young child. Now, I am trying to learn French and it is not coming as easy to me so I believe that you must teach them now.

Answer 9

i'm　american and have two boys born and raised in japan. i've been speaking only english and their father only japanese (he can't speak english, anyway) since they were born (they're 6 and 7 now)...my kids understand everything we say, in either language, but they only speak japanese to me when we're in japan, and they switch to english when we're in the states. they aren't as confident with their english yet, but as quickly as they're learning and copying me, i think they'll be fine when they get older.

they were confused about certain words (still are) and i just tell them the meaning in japanese, then use it again in english. i repeat things alot, and make sure NOT to translate everything. they usually figure out the meaning anyway...it can sometimes be frustrating, but definitely worth it. START NOW and save yourself lots of trouble (and money paying for classes) later!!

Answer 10

The best way is to learn from them. My husband is Croatian and it is pretty much the same language. I have picked up most of it from him and help from the Croatian English dictionary. It is a beautiful language :)