A rather strange gift

[HPIEX]

AIBU to think that foreign books are a rather strange choice of gift for children? My brother lives abroad and has come home for Christmas with 2 beautiful and expensive encyclopedia books for my children but they are in that country's language. We are English, he just lives there so it's not like it's part of their culture. The pictures are great but they are reference books we can't read. It would be interesting to have foreign language books if you are a linguist, or actively trying to learn that language but surely not to a 5 yr old who struggles to read English?! Thought I would share as it's funny, and just wasnt sure what to say when he showed me so off to Waterstones tomorrow, fingers crossed the foreign language section is up to the challenge- I'm hoping to find something beautifully illustrated in swahili, in a subject hes interested in so the frustration at not knowing what it says is all the greater 😂🤣

Honestly it sounds like they were a bit last minute...he probably thought "Oh shit! I haven't got the kids anything!" and then went to the nearest shop...a bookshop. I think your gift plan sounds perfect!

A book about fishing...in Welsh.
A book with recipes....in Gaelic.

Ideal!

If he lives in NZ its very common to send gifts in Te Reo Māori.

Depends a bit what the language is I think - if it’s something like French or Spanish that the children might learn at school then the books might come in handy. If it’s a more obscure language then I agree it’s an odd gift.

I think it's lovely. I loved books as a child and would have been fascinated by the different words and would probably have learned from the pics and the names. If not now for your kids then a few years down the line. It's a great way to introduce kids to language. One of my most treasured possessions was a kid was a birthday card and a song book in Spanish from my stylish Auntie who lived there. Loads of European kids learn English this way too.

Although if it's in a lesser known dialect of Swahili then yes that's pretty odd

I think it's lovely! My daughter received similar at that age and she still a few years later regularly looks though them and translates bits, she is fascinated

Buy him Harry Potter in Russian:

www.little-linguist.co.uk/garri-potter-i-filosofski-kamen-russian-harry-potter.html

I love books in languages I’m never going to learn too.

Not a crap gift.

Swahili is a lovely language, I learned to speak it, although far from fluently, as I have some Kenyan and Tanzanian friends and like to speak the language which is, along with English, a lingua franca in much of East Africa, although there are subtle differences, the coastal Swahili is slightly different to that spoken further inland. It is not too difficult a language to learn - Duolingo is your friend! It also forms the basis for much of the Shona language too, some of the words being identical

Also fwiw I think that sharing gifts in other languages is much more than being able to actually access the language, the political and social message is that there is a world and cultures outside of our own that can be learned about and learned from. Specifically indigenous languages that are at risk of dying out. Language is the heartbeat of culture and sharing different languages keeps those cultures alive, respected and honored. So no I don't think it's a strange gift, I think it's a gift of many possibilities for exploration and learning about a world outside of one's immediate frame of reference which I think is exactly what the world needs.

I'd have bloody loved those as a kid, and I'd bloody love them now too. But I have a collection of Harry Potter books in several languages I can't read, so it's possible I'm a bit of an outlier

@tiredinoratia

Also fwiw I think that sharing gifts in other languages is much more than being able to actually access the language, the political and social message is that there is a world and cultures outside of our own that can be learned about and learned from. Specifically indigenous languages that are at risk of dying out. Language is the heartbeat of culture and sharing different languages keeps those cultures alive, respected and honored. So no I don't think it's a strange gift, I think it's a gift of many possibilities for exploration and learning about a world outside of one's immediate frame of reference which I think is exactly what the world needs.

Well said.

YANBU @HPIEX It's very pretentious. The gift is useless. I'd be selling it on ebay in January tbh

Lovely gift. If the kids are intrigued by the books I’d be encouraging them to start on Duolingo.

Not a good idea my h brought one wedding anniversary a book in Welsh, I was depressed at the time and he’s been going on days)h you’ll Love it your present” I didn’t I was gutted. I’ve never looked at it again and never will.

I think it’s a lovely gift! Especially if he lives in a country that speaks that language, then it’s meaningful. It’s not as if it’s completely random. I encourage my 6 year old to take an interest in other languages.

As someone who loves languages and loves books... I'd hate this gift and just be frustrated. You want to broaden my horizons so to speak, then give me a book I can actually decipher about that culture.

I think it's lovely, and a chance for English children to learn early on that there are other languages on this earth apart from their own.

Ah thank you for all your lovely considered replies, wise words! We'll give it a go with the duolingo, will make it more fun when we can visit again :)

I made a massive cock up last Christmas and ordered my DD’s present in German not English. She was thrilled and now asks for books in different languages. She is a teen though so is able to translate.