Hannah's multiple dialects

When Hannah speaks Spanish, she does it by mixing several dialects, something that is typical when we have multiple dialects in contact.
For example, rather than saying "cabayo," as we would in porteno Spanish, she says /kabaio/ o /kabaito/ (for the diminutive). She also says /iama/ for /yama/ (llama).

She also says "ahorita" like Mexicans do, instead of saying "ahora." I love her when she says "ahorita." She sounds so cute.

The foods she eats are also similar to and different from what a porteno kid would eat. Hannah loves platanos (which my brother ate when he arrived in LA thinking that it was a big banana that did not taste very good!), comida salvadorena (por Marta), chinese food, and has been eating California rolls for two years. She loves the rice, which is sweet. I also say that Hannah must have been Asian in another life because she eats rice like I have never seen another child before (of course, I am used to Argentine children, for whom rice used to be a medicine). She loves brown rice, white rice, fried riced, etc, etc.

It's all about vocabulary.....

Hannah's vocab in Spanish is growing and growing. And as it grows, I see some developmental features that are interesting. Here are some of the things Hannah has been saying:

Lo poní (instead of "lo puse). Overgeneralization. Asi se me hacio. Instead of asi lo hice.
Play with mi. Here I am not sure if she is saying "conmigo" or "with me."
Hannah also says "jabon" for "jamon" She clearly does not hear the "m" sound, because I repeat the word several times and I try to have her repeat it right.... I know.... This won't work, but I still try...

There is one grammatical error that Hannah makes because she hears Marta use the form: She puts an s in the second person of the verb she produces. For example, she says "pusistes," "corristes," etc. This error kills me! I have been overly aware of it since childhood since my mother associated it with lower education, and she was concerned that we did not make it (althoug I should say that there are highly educated people who still produce the form). So I usually correct Hannah very overtly, but of course she does not pay attention to it since she is focused on the message.... More coming

On Turning Four

Hannah turned 4 yesterday! A happy day, a sad day, a tough day. I talked to her about the day she was born, how happy we were and how her dad changed her first diaper and fed her for the first time. I told her about the fact that her dad was always the first to do something for her. And how he would "model" for me and then I followed. But talking about these wonderful memories also reminded me of the fact that she has a father, but he is dead. No euphemisms. No "passed away" (passed away to go to where?) No to "we lost daddy" (I usually lose my keys and my glasses I find the, I can't find ALan, other than in my memories). I simply tell her que papa murio.

But yesterday was a happy day: We had lots of candles, six cup cakes, which we used for the candles throughout the day, and many calls from friends and family: Millie, as usual, called from Spain. We talked to her and Jazmin. It was wonderful to hear her voice, always present, as if she were with me, in good times and bad times. (I always say it is easy to be friends when things go well, when you have to celebrate. It is not easy to be friends when things go bad, really bad. And Millie is great at this!). Hannah's grandpas and grandma also called and sang the Happy B-day to her. And her cousins called. I know Hannah talked to Maiu, Martin, and Dani y Monica. Ahora, de que hablaron, no tengo idea, ya que Hannah no me dijo nada. Y Marta no me explico. Y Marta le trajo un bici. Increible!

Overall, it was a great day for Hannah! It was a happy day for me. But it was a very sad day, because I kept thinking about what could have been, what should have been, and the loss.

Today, Hannah va a reventar la mini-pinata. Y el sabado va a ser el cumple. A seguir festejando!