A Toddler-Friendly Language?

Could some languages be easier to use with toddlers that others? This is by no means a study in linguistics, but more of a personal theory that comes from my day-to-day experience. To tell you the truth, raising my son in French in an English-speaking country, I have developed  a sort of English-envy. I feel that the English language is better suited for toddler-rearing, because of its simple words and clearer ways to express things. For instance, it's a lot easier to repeat "share" than "il faut partager!" You can also use 'sharing' for lending toys, whereas in French you have to switch to "preter" which brings in a whole other concept. 

There are also some simple phrases parents use that convey easy messages like "use your words". I try to translate it, to "utilise tes mots", but it sounds a bit awkward and unnatural. I also like the saying "it hurts my feelings", the translation for this would be "ca me fait de la peine" but I think the French expression is a lot more abstract (it literally means "it pains me"). 

Finally, I think the English language can easily be put into simple phrases you can repeat over and over. I have heard A's teacher say to a child who was upset about the sticker she got "you get what you get and you don't get upset", I think that it's a great way to put it, and that there is no way you could do that in French. Maybe it's because I don't live in France and have lost some of my skills, but I feel that French requires you to explain things in more complex ways. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the French language, and its complexity is what makes it particularly interesting, but when it comes to toddlers, the English language may have an advantage. Maybe a linguist could actually study the issue.

Update on the Bilingual Thing

I last wrote about our adventures in bilingualism a year ago (see Raising a Bilingual Child) and a lot has changed since then. The most important thing is that A started nursery school in September. You may recall that until last Spring, he had been in a mainly French-speaking environment. I gave the teachers a list of useful french words, and they were great and just went with it. School had the expected effect: a major jump in A's English skills (take that nay-sayers and worry-buddies). A not only understands everything in both languages, but he can now express himself fully in French and English too. He usually knows pretty well how to separate the languages and to speak English to English-speakers and French to French-speakers. Lately however, he has started using more and more english words while speaking French. It's usually words that are easier in English --spider instead of araignee, or duck instead of canard -- or words he uses often at school. I am not worried because I know it's a normal step in the process, he'll eventually sort everything out. I do not correct him, because I read that's a sure way to have your child get frustrated with the language and refuse to speak it.

What I'm doing now is:

- continue to only speak French to him
- read books in French and continue to watch some French cartoons (although Mickey Mouse and Chuggington are definitely more popular these days)
- try to have him play with other French-speaking children
- visit France as often as we can

Are you raising a bilingual child? Has he or she mixed the words at one point? How did you handle it?

Bilingual Update

This is a fun phase in our 'bilingual adventure'. As I have said before (raising a bilingual child), I am from France and my husband is from the US so we are teaching A both French and English. Up until now, he's mainly heard French, since I only speak French to him and I had found a French babysitter to watch him from the time he was three months old. But recently, as A's speech really starts to develop, so does his English!

A lot of time, he seems to think it's fun to repeat the English words that other kids or people say, but he's not just repeating, he also knows when to use which language. For instance, if he plays cars with me, he'll tell me the cars need "essence", but when he plays with his Dad, he knows to say "gas". This morning after his basketball class, the coach asked him if he wanted a ball, and he enthusiastically said "yes!". Obviously, for some more complex things, he is still a lot more comfortable in French, but I'm sure he'll be fluent in English in no time once he goes to preschool, then the hard part of keeping the French alive will start...