| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] | What language do you speak to your partner? Thread poster: RafaLee
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Paul Dixon 
Brazil
Local time: 04:54
Portuguese to English
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I am British (fluent in Portuguese, resident in Brazil for over 40 years) and my darling wife is Brazilian. At home I always speak to my darling wife in Portuguese. However, she is studying English and doing very well.
I throw in a bit of Italian here and there, especially in declarations of love such as "Io te amo con tutto il mio cuore". I studied the language for two years in Moóca (an Italian neighbourhood here in São Paulo) and feel it has a romantic sound to it, perfect for ... See more I am British (fluent in Portuguese, resident in Brazil for over 40 years) and my darling wife is Brazilian. At home I always speak to my darling wife in Portuguese. However, she is studying English and doing very well.
I throw in a bit of Italian here and there, especially in declarations of love such as "Io te amo con tutto il mio cuore". I studied the language for two years in Moóca (an Italian neighbourhood here in São Paulo) and feel it has a romantic sound to it, perfect for loving words. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Paula Borges
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:54
Member (2010)
English to Portuguese
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I've been teaching my husband Portuguese and now we both find ourselves communicating in a Portuguese-English dialect sometimes.
| | | | | English... and a few words in our own private dialect! | Sep 28, 2010 |
My boyfriend is English and doesn't speak French. I speak fluent English, so we naturally speak English...
The good thing is, we live in a ski resort in the French Alps that is totally bilingual. There are lots of businesses (hotels, bars, restaurants...) run by British people, and we can easily spend several days or weeks without having to speak French to anyone (I'm hoping this will help when we have children and want them to become bilingual - French at school, English everywhere else!)... See more My boyfriend is English and doesn't speak French. I speak fluent English, so we naturally speak English...
The good thing is, we live in a ski resort in the French Alps that is totally bilingual. There are lots of businesses (hotels, bars, restaurants...) run by British people, and we can easily spend several days or weeks without having to speak French to anyone (I'm hoping this will help when we have children and want them to become bilingual - French at school, English everywhere else!).
We also have our own "made-up" words, mostly because my boyfriend sometimes can't remember the proper pronunciation for a French word and turns up with something new...
So we have "Savolian" which means "savoyard", and names of chair-lifts ("Tommeuses" has become "Tomaloo") or ski pistes ("Prariond" is now "Paranoid") are being made up as well.
I really like this, because it's something that is just between us and it makes it special  ▲ Collapse
| | | | Katia Siddi
Italy
Local time: 09:54
French to Italian
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Hello everyone,
I am enjoying reading your comments and comparing them to my own experience.
I am Italian (and very proud of being Italian ♥) and have been living in France with my French companion for over 4 years now. During the first year, we only spoke in French to each other because I could speak excellent French while he couldn't speak any Italian.
However, during this 4 years we have always spent all his (long) French holidays in Italy and have ma... See more Hello everyone,
I am enjoying reading your comments and comparing them to my own experience.
I am Italian (and very proud of being Italian ♥) and have been living in France with my French companion for over 4 years now. During the first year, we only spoke in French to each other because I could speak excellent French while he couldn't speak any Italian.
However, during this 4 years we have always spent all his (long) French holidays in Italy and have many Italian friends and family whose company we both prefer by far to the French. Also, we have Italian TV at home. So, he has learnt Italian from scratch to fluency without even realizing it in a quite natural environment.
When alone we speak both languages now, normally each speaks his/her own language. Of course, when in public, we both speak Italian to the Italians and French to the French.
All the best to the mixed couples and their children
Katia
[Edited at 2010-09-28 22:06 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Kim Meyers
United States
Local time: 02:54
Member (2009)
English to Thai
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SITE LOCALIZER | English, as a common language... | Sep 28, 2010 |
Helllo
As being a first time mother for a month and a half now, I am speaking Thai to my son, and my husband is speaking English to him. In public, of course I speak English to him.
However, I speak Thai to him around the house even though we have a guest who doesn't speak Thai at all staying in. Anyway, we communicate to each other in English though, even though my husband can understand some wor... See more Helllo
As being a first time mother for a month and a half now, I am speaking Thai to my son, and my husband is speaking English to him. In public, of course I speak English to him.
However, I speak Thai to him around the house even though we have a guest who doesn't speak Thai at all staying in. Anyway, we communicate to each other in English though, even though my husband can understand some words in Thai.
We've been doing researching for a few years before we are so ready to have the little one, eventually when we are ready to have him and we decide to go with bi-lingual for our child, we found OPOL -- One Parent, One Language, technique.
So, we decide that as I am from Thailand originally and I can speak both Thai and English fluently, I will do Thai part, and only Thai around the house. My husband, in the other hand, will do the English part.
We apply this OPOL to everything we do -- for example, bedtime reading.
Anyway, I heard about some children being shy of their mothers who speak Thai in public, and later on starting to stop speaking Thai to their mothers because they feel alienated from people around them (most residing in US and European countries) -- note that we have our own community (a webboard, to be exact) talking about raising a child and living abroad for Thais.
So, that is why I come up with me speaking English to him in public.
P.S. I realize that we have "Bilingual baby - what are the rules" topic in this "Multilingual families" forum, but since it has no new post for long, so I decide to put it here.
Warm regards,
Kim Meyers ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Depends where we are | Sep 28, 2010 |
We tend to use Welsh if in Italy or anywhere else abroad so we can have our own conversations in private, Italian if we need to discuss anything over here we want to be between ourselves, and Wenglish when relaxing by here, not by there, in our daps at home before going out now in a minute.....Tidy.
Nos da
Suze (Wenglish for Susanna)
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