Living In A Bilingual World

Volume 3: December Comments Off

By: Yara Hidalgo

It’s difficult to live in a world where at a very young age one starts to translate language services for the parents to be able to operate in society. Once the child begins learning how to speak, write and read English the parents depend on their children to translate conversations, letters, visits to the doctor, and parent phone calls.

“Ring, ring, ring, ring!” Mom or dad answer the phone, at the very moment that they hear the other person on the other line speaking English, they hand the phone over to you. You’re going back and forth translating the conversation.

When letters come in the mail from insurance companies they ask their child to read it to them and translate what they’re saying. Sometimes it’s hard because the child isn’t able to read that high level of writing, but the kid needs to try their best to translate it.

It is said that these type of students’ brain develops faster than regular students because they have to learn the two types of cultures at the same time. They are very flexible in the sense that they go back and forth from the American culture to their native culture.

What would parents do without these kids? They would have to struggle to figure it out on their own. To be able to maneuver in society they would have no other choice but to learn English.

This type of growth makes the child a better and enhanced person because he/she is not only bilingual, but they also have a clear idea of both cultures.

admin @ December 19, 2007