Favourite phrase
Now that I’m getting better at understanding what my parents are saying to me, and also starting to say a few simple words, it seems I’m confusing my Mum & Dad as to how I learnt my favourite phrase: “不要” (the Chinese equivalent of “No”, or more accurately “Don’t want”).
Most babies learn ‘No’ pretty early, as it’s something which we hear a lot from our parents, and it’s also pretty useful (as in “Alexander, do you want to go to bed?” or “Alexander, have you had enough to eat yet?”). However, when my Mum tells me not to do anything, she says “不可以” ([you] can’t [do that]). So how did I learn this useful phrase so quickly?
Incidentally, Mummy generally speaks to me in Chinese, while Dad speaks to me in English. This, according to the experts, is one of the best ways to make sure I grow up properly bilingual; however, as everyone else speaks Chinese to me, I’m learning that quicker. We haven’t quite worked out how I’ll learn Taiwanese yet.
Update: I’ve just found out that Taiwanese does not have a word for ‘chocolate’ - so I don’t think I want to learn it anyway!
