Comments on: Helping children keep their language

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:06:33 +0000

I’m late chiming in here, but I recently found that on http://www.nazret.com/radio, you can listen to Voice of America in Amharic. Maybe this would be of interest to parents seeking to maintain the aural skills of older kids, who may have some (if limited!!) interest in the topics being discussed. With enough effort and commitment, I believe, language can virtually always be learned and maintained.
~Stefanie

By: tephdra

tephdra — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 20:53:53 +0000

I am staring to use the Amharic 101, 102, 103, 104 series put out by http://www.africanlanguage.com. Since my four year old has forgotten most of her Amharic, I thought this my help us both. So far so good…

By: Theresa

Theresa — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:43:38 +0000

We, too, work on keeping original languages as well as their new English...

I'd love to know if you are aware of any books in either Amharic or Tigrayan that would be for children older than picture book age. I have only one - far cry from what I hope to have!

By: Waiting for (Iyasu) Zufan!

Waiting for (Iyasu) Zufan! — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 01:19:04 +0000

Hi Mary!

Mulilingualism is one of my areas of interest, and from what I have experienced and read, I would predict that your girls are going to need to hear and interact with a native speaker of Amharic on a regular basis. If you find someone to come to your home a couple of hours a couple times a week, they could maintain their language, and others in your family might learn a bit as well. Otherwise, the likelyhood of them maintaining fluency is slim. Our oldest daughter (age 7) speaks three languages, but our son (4) only speaks two, because it is really, really hard to gain and maintain fluency. We just haven’t dedicated the time in his case, like we did with our daughter. OK, just my 2(or 3) cents, and good luck with everything! It sounds like you are doing such an awesome job with the girls, and I admire you so much!! Thanks!

By: burningbridges

burningbridges — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:16:45 +0000

Thanks, Mary!

By: Mary Owlhaven

Mary Owlhaven — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 06:23:46 +0000

Tamatha,

It is said "Ahm-HAR-ick"....

Mary

By: burningbridges

burningbridges — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:15:25 +0000

I think it’s so wonderful you’re trying to keep the Amharic for your girls. I’m wondering, though-how do you pronounce ‘Amharic’? Every time I read it I try a different pronunciation!

Tamatha

By: cdjohnst

cdjohnst — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:13:45 +0000

I just wanted to give you some encouragement. It can be done!! If you work hard enough and find the right resources, they can keep their Amharic.

My daughter is 2, adopted at 2 months old, and speaks both amharic and english.We are blessed with an Amharic speaking full-time babysitter, but we have also used books, the tsehai dvd, amharic kids songs and as much exposure in the community as we can find! Good luck!