my brother and I used to call both our grandfathers "Taid", whereas, our
grandmothers were known as "Nain" and "Nana". No idea why - perhaps
the men were used to responding to all names under the sun - they just knw instinctively
when they were being spoken to.
Here in Germany, my now 3 year old daughter doesn't have that problem - my parents are
now Nain and Taid, and my wifes are Oma and Opa.
Referring to the language aspect - it is important to me that my daughter speaks Welsh, it
is important for her that she also learns English, and with growing up in Germany, and
having a German mother, it is also important to speak German.
So she is growing up with all 3. Granted she took a bit longer to start speaking than her
cousin who is 2 days older, but she did have to process 3 languages instead of just the 1.
Now she understands all 3 and if I tell her something in Welsh, she turns round and
repeats it word for word in German to her Oma and Opa.
I can only concur with Brian that children know instinctively which language to use with
whom.
Dewi
-------- Original-Nachricht --------
Datum: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 07:42:08 -0400
Von: Brian Davies <bedavies(a)bellsouth.net>
An: monmouthshire(a)rootsweb.com
Betreff: Re: [MON] Blaenavon
Other events in my life have kept me from paying much attention to
this
thread - but -the most commonly used affectionate term for 'grandfather'
in south Wales is/was (in my experience) Bamp or Bampa. I always used
the former term in Newport and our daughters in Aberystwyth the latter
term for my wife's father from Dowlais. With a grand daughter imminent
in London this is, as they say, 'under active consideration' here in
Dixie land.
Learning languages early? It is common experience that young children
seem to know instinctively which language is which, certainly in Wales.
Brian Davies
Emeritus Professor B E Davies PhD, C. Chem, FRSC
107 Teeside Drive
Anderson SC 29625-6937 USA
tel: (864) 646-7876
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