Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Ich bin three Jahre alt

Emma said this to our Haushaltshelferin (Nanny) when she was talking about her upcoming birthday and how old she would be. At the same time Emma was trying to make three with her fingers. After her first statement, which included English and German, Emma seemed to realize that the "German" Nanny would not understand the English word "three." By this time her fingers were making three and she restated her age while pointing to her fingers: "Ich bin so alt".

Interesting that she determines that a word doesn't fit in one language sometimes.

The phrases again in English and German again would be as follows:

1a) I am drei (3) years old.
1b) Ich bin three (3) Jahre alt.

2a) I am this old.
2b) Ich bin so alt.

#2 said while pointing to her fingers making a three.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG, that's so cute. Isn't it amazing how fast they learn?

In school I said "Hast du schon the different.." then I sat back and told myself "DEUTSCH!"... LOL... people always laugh about me when it happens but it's not that easy because at one point you start to think in the other language and when you've got more contact with english speakers than germans... well... that doesn't help either :)

But your daughter is adorable. :)

Lynda said...

We called this 'ginglish' when our eldest daughter was about age three... only people that spoke both languages could understand what she was saying. Very cute. Often confusing for people that would ask her a question in english because she would answer in German and vice versa...Sounds like Emma is making great strides. Good Work!

March 2007