Language confusion
At three-and-a-half Brigid has spent most of her life living in China. Even though we have not pushed her toward fluency (no Chinese nanny or kindergarten), she has picked up enough Mandarin that I am surprised by what she does not know how to say in English.
When we get into the car, Brigid will tell everyone "系安全带 (xi an quan dai)!" She has been doing this since last year, too, only recently learning how to say consistently "fasten your seatbelt."
She and I were at a coffee shop and she did not finish her bagel. Just as when we are at Starbucks in China, she was happy to get the take-out herself. I guessed she might not know what to say, so I asked her. Brightly, she replied, "打包 (da bao)!" When I started to tell her that those were the Chinese words for take-out, she interrupted me with an even brighter "袋子 (daizi)!" Again, I had to inform her she was using the Chinese words, and what she really wanted to ask for was a bag. A little confused by this, she asked me, "What about 买单 (mai dan)? Is that English or Chinese?"
She doesn't wash hands, she 洗手 (xi shou); she doesn't shake hands, she 握手 (wo shou). I think she knows the English word "hand," but she seems to prefer the Chinese. She even calls my mobile phone a 手机 (shou ji).
This is, of course, all the more amusing to me as when we are in China, we have to beg her to speak Chinese out of the house. Occasionally she'll have the courage, or rather the audacity, to speak Mandarin. But usually, she just remains quiet, mumbling her name when asked or putting up three fingers to show her age.
When we get into the car, Brigid will tell everyone "系安全带 (xi an quan dai)!" She has been doing this since last year, too, only recently learning how to say consistently "fasten your seatbelt."
She and I were at a coffee shop and she did not finish her bagel. Just as when we are at Starbucks in China, she was happy to get the take-out herself. I guessed she might not know what to say, so I asked her. Brightly, she replied, "打包 (da bao)!" When I started to tell her that those were the Chinese words for take-out, she interrupted me with an even brighter "袋子 (daizi)!" Again, I had to inform her she was using the Chinese words, and what she really wanted to ask for was a bag. A little confused by this, she asked me, "What about 买单 (mai dan)? Is that English or Chinese?"
She doesn't wash hands, she 洗手 (xi shou); she doesn't shake hands, she 握手 (wo shou). I think she knows the English word "hand," but she seems to prefer the Chinese. She even calls my mobile phone a 手机 (shou ji).
This is, of course, all the more amusing to me as when we are in China, we have to beg her to speak Chinese out of the house. Occasionally she'll have the courage, or rather the audacity, to speak Mandarin. But usually, she just remains quiet, mumbling her name when asked or putting up three fingers to show her age.
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