Advice needed re minority language please

[hazbaz]

We are trying to bring up DS (17mo) bilingual with me speaking to him in English & DH speaking to him in Kabyle.

The problem is that, although he clearly understands both languages he is hardly speaking Kabyle at all, but prefers English. Totally understandable as i am a SAHM and we live in London so surronded by english. But i'm worried that if we carry on like this he never will speak Kabyle bilingually.

I've tried to get my DH to get books/DVDs in Kabyle but he says there are none.....and we don't have the money for frequent trips back to Algeria - HELP!!

Does anyone know anyone Kabyle out there? Or any idea to help me keep the bilingual dream alive please?

Is there an Algerian community where you are that you can tap into? Could you find other Kabyle speaking families? Maybe on Gumtree or through the Algerian embassy?

TBH I really wouldn't worry at 17mo. If your DH is consistent when DS is older and really makes an effort to respond only in Kabyle/not answer when your DS speaks English (unless he really doesn't know the word) that will give him a big incentive to learn to speak!

For now your DH can definitely 'read' picture books in Kabyle and perhaps your DH's family could write letters when DS is older to encourage reading/writing. Instead of DVDs could they tape themselves telling stories and send them to you?

Good luck!

Make your own books! I made up picture stories about DS with truprint.com (God, that's the second time in 5 mins I've mentioned them here, I don't work for them, honest!) I took photos of DS doing different stuff on the beach, put them in a picturebook, and wrote captions for each page. "Bessie'sBoy is making a sandcastle. Now he wants an ice cream." etc. DS LOVES it!

My friend and her Iranian DH are bringing their DD up bilingual with her other language being Farsi. They have found lots of cartoons on youtube in Farsi. Could you try similar?

I had a quick look on Amazon and there really don't appear to be any books. Bessie's suggestion is a brilliant one!

Those are some brilliant ideas, thanks everyone, and thanks for replying. I will pester DH again about "reading" our picture books, trouble is he's not very book focussed, think DS has more books than DH has ever read in his life

As long as your DH keeps talking to him only in Kabyle, your ds will always understand and will be able to speak fine when he is minded to. Try not to force it as you don't want him to end up with any kind of complex from being pressurised.

Any chance of getting some close relatives on skype if they're not in the UK? And could your dh tell his own stories? Sing songs?

Another way to make your own books is to buy second hand English books of the appropriate level and write the translation in (not suggesting your child will be able to read them, but it makes it seem more like a "real" book because the text is the same every time - when you translate off the top of your head it's never the same twice.)

If your DH doesn't want to use books, can relatives or your DH read stories or sing songs onto tape or CD?

As for your main worry - it is quite normal at this age for a child to understand both but speak mainly (if at all) in the majority language.

However, if you wanted to start upping the pace, you (or rather your husband) could start saying (in Kabyle) "mummy says "trousers", what does daddy say?" Then, a few months down the line, you can go a bit further by pretending not to understand him if he uses the "wrong" language. (This is also an excellent test of what he does know - if he knows it, he'll make the effort; if he doesn't, he's forced to repeat it in the majority language, and your husband can then tell him what he doesn't know. This works very well with my own daughter French/English)

My DDs is Moroccan and although he started off speaking to her in both Arabic and also a bit of French, it seems to have slipped abit in the past few years (dd is 3)
My DD still understands a bit of arabic, and her Dad talks to his family in Arabic so she still does hear alot, but I dont think she will ever be properly bilingual, which I am quite upset about.
Her Dad doesnt live with us anymore so she really only understands English now