MANY Zambian parents want their children to speak English fluently and many opt to use the language when communicating with their children from birth.
This trend might stem partly from Zambia’s history as an Anglophone country and the fact that English is the official language.
Because of this, some parents ban the use of vernacular in their homes in preference to using english and will at times scold any household members breaking this rule.
One friend complained that while plaiting her two-year-old daughter’s hair, her little girl screamed in Nyanja “nisiye uzanipaya” when the combing became a little too rough.
This friend never spoke any Nyanja to her kid as she used English as the main medium of communication in her home.
So where did the little girl pick up such fluent Nyanja from? The house help of course. While my friend was at work, bana Flo, as the house help was called, would chat away in Nyanja to her young ward and as a result, the little girl could switch from English to Nyanja with ease.
She knew when mummy was home it was English time, bana Flo’s arrival every morning would mean it was Nyanja time.
As a result, the young girl grew up to be bilingual.
Being able to speak to more than one language is a good thing. It helps children communicate in different environments with ease.
While others argue that children who grow in bilingual homes develop their speech more slowly than their friends in monolingual homes, research has proved that children in monolingual homes when compared to those in bilingual homes developed more or less at the same pace.
If you do decided to raise a bilingual kid, don’t worry. They will mix languages sometimes and you will hear such things as “mummy Natasha has tanad me. She is also doing ndewo.” Just smile and be happy that you are raising a savvy bilingual kid.
Though a few tips from experts can come in handy.
First is family agreement. For instance, one parent might not be comfortable in allowing the kids to learn a language the parent cannot understand. A friend once said “teti nkane ukulabila umulaka wabamama’ meaning that there was no way she could fail to speak her mother’s language. (Forgive me if some things are lost in translation)
Her father was Lunda and she could not speak her father’s mother tongue in preference to that of her mum’s. Another example is my former additional mathematics teacher in secondary school who posted on his Facebook page that as a rule, only his mother tongue was to be spoken in his home by his children.
The solution is to sit, talk and compromise. Remember, the more languages your child can speak, the better for them (it might give them a competitive edge at a job interview in future.)
The second is be enthusiastic, yet realistic. Once the idea of two languages has settled, many people consider adding more.
While it is possible to introduce as many as four languages in a home-provided you can offer exposure  and need for each one, research does not encourage it because a child  needs to be exposed to a language 30 per cent  of his or her waking time to actively speak it.
Next is the practical plan. Agree on who speaks what language to whom and then stick to it. If daddy will use Tonga and mother English, so be it.
Get support.
Find others raising kids in a similar way to yours. Lastly, be patient. Raising multilingual children requires patience.
As with most aspects of parenting, it’s  a long term commitment. One of my teacher friends narrated how she felt it was important for parents to raise bilingual children.
During one of her lessons, a child from the back row got up and walked to her desk and calmly asked: “Please cheacher, may I go upside”. Of course what the child wanted to say was ‘please teacher, may I go outside’.
Another in charge of a grade nine in Milenge District, says she always has to translate lessons from English into vernacular.
It is common for her pupils to say ‘ba teacher nomba londololelni mu cibemba’.The level of education of many parents in many homes differs.
Some have parents whose highest level of education could be a grade seven certificate while others have university degrees.
The key is work with what you have. If you are not good at English you can encourage your kid(s) to spend time with other kids that are fluent in the language.
After all, that is the language they will need to operate in when looking for jobs etc. But also, it’s good to stay close to one’s roots so they can also communicate with the average Joe on the street.
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