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Why is it when people talk to others not thier type for example a litvisha to a chusid, they try to speak thier language the way the other person does. And same thing when one speaks to a baby, a mexican, chinese… They speak the language the way the other does. Maybe If we would speak to them properly, not with a broken english they would understand us better, and they would also be able to speak correct english?!
EDITED
Real-brisker
Please avoid derogatory racist terms like EDITED. However sometimes Chassidim don’t know English, or not that well so I am forced to bust out some broken Yiddish. When I speak to Spanish or other non natives I try to use simple words that they are likely to know and do a lot of “hand” talking.
Nisht kiunderstando.
My brother can’t stand when people talk differently to a baby. He always said the kid will understand you much better if you say, for example, “crib” instead of “criby.”
real-brsker
Why does this bother you so much?
Real-Brisker
I hear your Hava Amina. You are right on some counts. For example the Doctors and baby specialists say its best to speak to a baby in proper English otherwise you teach them to talk like a baby and not to speak cleawly (clearly…)
As for black people. They talk that way because that’s how their people and community talk. Those who are part of a wealthier more upper class background don’t talk like a street thug.
The Spanish are immigrants, the ones who want to learn English will pick it up by watching Tv and movies that’s how they learn for the most part. However when speaking to them its easiest to refrain from using words like refrain.
You get the point.
My brother can’t stand when people talk differently to a baby. He always said the kid will understand you much better if you say, for example, “crib” instead of “criby.”
That reminds me of a woman who once told me her children really like me because I talk to them as if they are people.
“Well, aren’t they?” I asked.
Talk straight…and sit up clearly.
Just because you know I’m uneducated you don’t have to name this thread “talk straight please” if the correct way of saying it would be “please talk straight” (I’m going to stay uneducated if you don’t name things properly.) 🙂
Try understanding an uneducated person from England. Hatzlacha 🙂
HadaLXTP,
Are you English? Do English people understand them better? Those accents are crazy.
psychological
I wouldn’t know as I am not English. 🙂
All I know is that I definitely don’t understand them.
lol,
I know what you mean! when ever i speak to a foriegner i try talking like them, like you no see etc.
I think mordechai shmutter talks about it in an article
did anyone hear about the teacher who told her 8th grade students to “mach a zitzy!”
Real Brisker this is a brillian observation and so true! My daughter always tells me that she knows WHO I am speaking to on the phone just by the way I intoneate my accent to the listener. And I do find I am guilty of this actually! I will speak a retarded English to an Israeli immigrant neighbor, or put on a chassidish hungarian accent to another person. Or I can do British accents real good too. I am not schizophrenic either.
After pausing and thinking what you said through, I wonder if we ourselves, as the speaker, don’t have our limitations in what we believe people’s intellectual capabilites are, and rather assume they are only understanding as we understand them.
Thanks for pointing this out.
It’s bad to talk to kids like babies. You speak NORMALLY and they WILL understand.
I even talk to my one year old like I talk to my friends(in an appropriate manner of course). She understands every word.
It’s the only way they learn to talk normally. Otherwise they’ll talk like a baby until they’re 7!
Ok real brisker and smartcookie, I understand the point you may be making, however, I cannot stand those mentalities that say You should not baby sugar your voice when speaking to a baby.
Excuse me, its so normal and natural to talk sweet to a sweet kid. How can you expect to talk to them straight like an adult. That is like ripping them off from the babyhood experience. I am not saying to call a crib a criby and a broit a broity forever, but I mean specifically the intonation of the voice going up and high pitched and gentle like feminine.
Babies need that. I am sure it can be proven.
It has been proven, frumlady. I read an article once about how parents naturally are inclined to speak “motherese” and how important it is for a baby’s development. I don’t remember exactly what the benefits are but it stressed the high pitch. It didn’t say to change the words (i.e. don’t say cribby instead of crib), but the tone is beneficial to babies.
I dont know why adding a Y to words makes it baby talk.
bird – birdy
crib- criby
broit – broity
Frumlady-
Of course I change the TONE of voice when talking to my baby. But not the words.
I thought that was obvious.
I don’t say mama for mommy, or wanna go cwiby(crib), wannacookie (want a cookie).
I speak with an adults vocabulary but very softly.
This teaches babies full vocabulary.
Poster, brisker- I also add a y sometimes and I donno why! But the word should be said clearly- like criby and not cwiby.
I know many people whose parents spoke baby talk to them, and now they are adults and still talk baby talk.
No, wait, I don’t know any people like that. So what is the harm exactly?
I just logged in to find a whole new discussion now on the word Criby? LOL.
real-brisker
I have given some thought to your post and I now agree with you very strongly on one point. The way parents talk to babies and young children. Besides sounding pathetic, you teach your child poor vocabulary and grammar I have heard parents call things by the name the baby calls it and its a mistake. The kid is to young to properly pronounce it so they say for example gape instead of grape, but they “think” they are saying grape or at least are trying to. If you always ask them “do you want gapes?” you reinforce bad vocabulary and make them think that the real word is gape and not grape.
There are many kids in the 1st or 2nd grade who still use baby words because their parents didnt realize at the time that calling blanket blankie, or bed “bettie”…was going to stick…
about toddlers – in my experience they don’t understand what you are saying when you speak their ‘language’. For example my younger sister called my sister a nickname instead of her real name cuz she couldn’t say it. But when we would ask my baby sister if she wanted the other sister using the nickname she would have no idea what we were talking about.
about other people who don’t speak English properly – I don’t think it’s a conscious thing. But it could be you just adapt how your talking to theirs without even realizing.
I still disagree. I have never met an adult who was still talking baby talk. I just don’t see the harm.
It doesn’t matter how long it would have taken. The point is there are no long term effects, so who cares?
I love this post and I totally a agree with real brisker. People think that if you speak to a mexican in broken halted english they will understand you better.
Regarding regular accents I personally do change my accent slightly when I’m speaking to different people like when I speak to Southerners I do adopt a slight drawl.
However to speak bad english and incorrect words won’t make a guy understand any better
Real Brisker
Basically I agree with you 100%. When speaking to immigrants I avoid using “big” words and I try to keep my sentences short. They get lost if you use too many words are words they may not know.
When I talk to Chassidim I guage their level of English and base my speech on that. What good is it to use words the other person won’t understand? That’s not communicating.
If you are talking to a foreigner, I think you should speak his broken English. If he says, “So after I am getting off the bus…”, you should not respond, “yes, after you get off the bus”. He thinks the way to say that is getting.
If you ask someone in Israel, ” Eifoh HaBeis Hikesei?”, You don’t want him to point you to the “sherutim”. I DON’T NEED A TAXI!
(Everyone please note a proper usage of “all caps”. I meant to yell.
Popa
What are you saying? ??????? is bathroom in Hebrew. If I wanted a Beis Hakisei I would hope he would point me to a ???????!
What I am saying is that if he says “hasherutim bachutz ltzad smolah”, I will think he means taxis, and will just be confused. He should bear with my idiocy so that I will understand him.
When calling on the phone and a teenager picks up don’t ask to speak mommy. ask for her mother!
real-brisker:
Do you have any real knowledge about the etiologies of speech and language disorders?
Tanta knows someone who works on pronouns with his/her boy/girl students all day/night long/short.
Popa_bar_abba “I have never met an adult who was still talking baby talk. I just don’t see the harm.”
You obviously don’t read the CR enough…
42 – Hey, an old thread of mine. 🙂
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