Language is fascinating and Amharic school has been nothing short of stimulating, excited and exhausting.
Every language has a "sound box" which includes every sound that said language produces. English has 44 sounds. There are familiar sounds in our new language and uncharted territories in our mouths as well.
For our first 2 1/2 weeks, we pack in the vocab words with pictures and have begun responding to basic commands. We are just listening now and aren't even allowed to try to speak! The theory is that with lots of listening (learning like a child) the end accent will be better. I color during learning as it keeps my mind from wondering.
The Littles are in a temporary situation still, we have hired last week's nanny to come to our house this week but next week need to transition to a different woman, Aberet. Aberet will be around our house in the mornings this week so they girls will get to know her a bit more. They are going through a oh-my-word-they-are-sassy-and-so-so-volatile-and-fussy stage right now. We are all feeling for our new routine. They have begun to slowly incorporate basic Amharic words into their vocabulary. Their nanny is supposed to speak to them in Amharic but I am pretty sure she slips into English often. :)
Happy Monday!
3 comments:
How many sounds does Amharic have? How many are like any of our 44 sounds? This is a fascinating way to learn a language.
I agree - completely fascinating! I'll be so interested to know any of your language learning stories! And this Littles are going to have such a pronunciation leg up on you guys from their first several months...so that's a plus!
There are some Amharic sounds that I just can't make. When we were in Ethiopia last month, they were demonstrating a throaty, clicking sound that we just simply do not have in our language. So fascinating...hope you guys have a great time in language school and learn lots! I'm sure it seems a little intimidating, but you'll do great, I'm sure. :)
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