Dr. Robert Needlman
Specialist in pediatric behavior and development.
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 Ask Dr. Needlman
Bilingual baby | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Needlman,
I speak Spanish to my baby and my husband English. There is no other way my baby will hear Spanish language apart from me, so I worry that he won't learn. He already says 2 words in English, none in Spanish (words in English are easier and shorter as well). My baby is 13 months, and I also heard bilingual babies start talking much later, is this so? Many thanks!— Imy in London, England | | | ANSWER |
April 10, 2001 | | | Dear Imy,
It's great that you are able to give the gift of bilingualism to your baby. A 13-month-old who says one or two small words is right on target, in terms of learning to talk.
Early on, babies who grow up hearing two languages tend to have smaller vocabularies in each language than do monolingual children of the same age. But, if you add up the words they know in both languages, usually the number is about the same. I wouldn't say that they talk "much later" than other children. And, by age four or five, generally their skills are good in both languages. For more on language and bilingual development, see our Language: Talking and Understanding program; be sure to look for other questions from parents about bilingualism, too.— by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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