Anyone bilingual British/Afrikaans?

[dodi]

Would love to know someone else in this situation. Am hoping that DS will end up teaching me!

I've answered your other thread - but when i was wee, mum and dad used to "hide" secrets from us by talking in Afrikaans (especially in the run up to Christmas !).

Mum wasn't very fluent though, as she was from Durban (and had Australian parents anyway!).

I do have Afrikaans friends who have just had twins who are planning on bringing their kids up bi-lingual. But it is now doubt easier to do when both parents can speak "their" language in the home, but speak English the rest of the time.

I am trying to persuade her to come on to Mumsnet for some support - twins are hard work and her mum has just gone back to SA!

I am Afrikaans.....

Hi Nickinha

Dh is from Kimberley and has been trying to teach me for 6 years. I'm hoping that Ds will end up teaching me!

Where abouts are you, I'm just outside London.

Dodi I am sitting in the Algarve, Portugal. Maybe I could teach you a couple of words and you can go home and shock him!!!! lol

Nickinha - I've been trying to find someone in my area that does Afrikaans lessons but no luck - I can understand a lot but am a bit shy when it come to speaking - Dh likes to laugh when I try, so that doesn't help! Would love to learn in secret and shock the whole family!!

I can teach you a new word every day...... you ask me the word in english - i tell you it in afrikaans....

Dodi - I've been trying to Learn Shona for nearly 7 1/2yrs now (6 of those I've been with DH) and still can only say a few words - most of his family have now kindly given up on me

Dh and I have given up trying to say some of the name of Cape wines to my mum's satisfaction (who' not even the one from the Afrikaans area! ). We can't even get "Klein Constantia" right - although I'm not bad on "Buitenverwachtung".

And as for place names - Oodstoorn is impossible. I now say "the place near Kango Caves".

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I am bilingual English/Afrikaans. ashamed to say that I can only speak rudimentary Xhosa, something I intend to remedy now that we are living back in SA.

I only 'get' what's going on in a conversation when English words are thrown in as their no Shona word for it

One of my SIL's tried furiously for about 3yrs to teach me (the youngest couldn't care less and the oldest gave up much earlier) but even she finally had to admit defeat.

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Should perhaps also add the the SIL in question can speak Shona (her mother tongue), Ndbele, English andquite a lot of Xhosa (her DH's mother tongue) -

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