The other day I was lucky enough to have a cup of tea and a chat with Meg (pictured left) the daughter of one of my students, Taiko (right) who pops in for a lesson between trips to the coffee shops of Abiko and her allotment. Meg was on a flying visit back home, she usually lives in Germany with her German husband and we all three talked about the differences between Germany, Japan and England and compared notes about learning languages and dealing with life in a different country, culture and language. Here is what we concluded:
- We should encourage children to be multi-lingual. It is very difficult for adults to learn new languages, but children can easily handle two or three or more, kids are naturally language sponges. My children know to speak English to me and Japanese to their mother, and that causes them no trouble.
- If Meg starts a family she has a great opportunity to pass on three languages: Japanese when she is alone with her kids, German when her husband is in charge of the nappies and English when all are present together (Meg and her husband, Robbie, speak English together).
- Don't listen to people (who only speak one language) who will tell you that Japanese, German or English is "such a difficult language" that you should teach your kids only one... nonsense. If you use only one, it will be too late for the other languages.
- Re-enforce the minority language. If Meg stays in Germany, she should focus on exposing her kids to as much Japanese and Japanese culture as possible. Equally, if she should move back to Japan, she should change focus to re-enforce German, as the minority language.
- Dictionaries and patience are vital in a multi-lingual relationship. I used to know a Chinese lady married to a German man, and they lived in England. They spoke English together, but when they argued they needed four dictionaries. He would call her something in German. He would have to look it up in a German-to-English dictionary, then she would have to look what he had said in an English-to-Cantonese dictionary, then think of a response, translate it in the Cantonese-to-English dictionary, then he would have to look it up in the English-to-German dictionary. Much easier just to not argue (but less educational).
- As cultures mix, so does your food. A German sweet white wine goes well with sushi. Ton-katsu and chips go well together. My favourite meal is marbu-tofu followed by apple crumble.
