Hanis - Mixing Finnish And German

Fräulein has now been in the German Krippe for one year. She has learnt the language quite well. Actually so well, that I noticed earlier that we are raising a bilingual child!

I was a bit worried, what would happen during our seven weeks in Finland. And yes, Fräulein's return to Krippe was a bit difficult. But it was not only the language - most of her friends had moved to the Kindergarten groups as they had turned three years old, there were many new children in the Krippe, and her favorite teacher was on holiday.

Well, after just one week everything was back to normal. Her language and speech (in Finnish) had really developed during our holiday and now her German was improving as well.

Nowadays, she is not only using one word commands sentences, but something more complex. And her vocabulary has improved greatly. She is also able to find the connection between the two languages: "Koira. In the Krippe they say 'Hund'!"

But then there is this one word, which I find highly amusing: 'rabbit'. In German 'Hase' and in Finnish 'jänis'.

Thus, Fräulein calls her bunny 'Hanis!'

Baby and her 'Hanis'

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Paluu Krippeen Suomi-lomamme jälkeen oli Fräuleinille vähän hankala. Hänen suomensa oli kesän aikana parantunut merkittävästi, mutta sitten olikin taas aika palata saksankieliseen ympäristöön. 
Jo viikon jälkeen homma kuitenkin alkoi taas sujua ja saksankielisten sanojen ja juttujen määrä on lisääntynyt huimasti.
Mielestäni hauskin on uudissana, jolla Fräulein kutsuu pupuaan: Hase + jänis = Hanis!

Pipi and Pallo

Fräulein isn't much of a speaker. Around the time of Christmas, she was saying a handful of words, like mum, dad, meow (what cat says), yes, no and give (well, the Finnish versions of those).

But since Christmas, there has been hardly any new words. And as Fräulein is now spending time with her German Tagesmutter, I thought it would slow down her starting to speak even more.

But I was proven wrong! During the last week, there has been several new words!

First it was just woof-woof (what dog says), and as she is making other animal sounds as well (not really words, but like the sound of a bear), I didn't pay much attention.

But then she showed a picture in a magazine and said "lady". Yesterday, she had bruised her arm and knee and said "sore" (children call it pipi in Finnish). Several times. I guess there is some fun in spotting bruises from your body... And this morning, loud and clear "ball" (pallo), pointing at a balloon!

Not a sore nose, but this is what happens when she gets hold of a Bepanthen tube... 

I'm so excited! It sounds so funny when she is saying all these things! And I can't wait for her to start really talking - it will be so nice to hear what goes on in that little mind of hers!

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Fräuleinin sanavarasto ei ole vielä kovin laaja. Joulusta asti hän on osannut sanoa äiti, isi, juu, ei, mau  ja anna. Mutta viimeaikoina uusia sanoja ei ole tullut lisää. 
Nyt kun Fräulein viettää aikaansa saksankielisen Tagesmutterin kanssa, ajattelin, että puheen tulo on toistaiseksi jäissä. Mutta nyt viimeisen viikon aikana onkin tullut monta uutta sanaa: hauhau, täti, pipi ja tänä aamuna vielä pallo!
Tosi hauskaa!