Nez, nez, nez vs. Nä, nä, nä

When two words in different languages sound similar but have different meanings there can be a problem...

My husband G has a game with Julie where they touch their noses and say: Nez, nez, nez!
(French for Nose, nose, nose!) Julie then bubbles with laughter and then they start over again. Nez, nez, nez...

However, when I say: Nä, nä, nä! (Swedish slang for No, no, no!) when she's putting her fingers in the electric socket or pulling my hair really hard she bubbles with laughter too!

It took awhile for me to understand why she became so happy when I said no! Maybe I'll have to say No in other languages?

Finnish: Ei!

Albanian: Jo!

Somali: Maya!

German: Nein! Maybe the most effective ;-D?

Julie said Ma-ma!

My husband and I heard her say it clearly and we were both surprised... ok, it was most likely a coincidece of sounds and it will probably take some more months until she says it consciously but she said did it at least: Ma-ma!

Now I'll proudly write in her book that her first word was Ma-ma...or shall I wait until she actually means it?

To hear her say Ma-ma makes me all happy inside and reminds me of my new and wonderful title, responsibility and lifelong love(s)!

For now everything is: Arreu, arreu ;-)!

Picture: Julie (4 months old) and I are shopping in Luleå!

Arreu, arreu...

Our little French/Swedish daughter says "Arreu, arreu..." and my husband and I quickly and happily reply "Ouiii, arreu, arreu..."

It's amazing that she's begun to train for the French language already! We've made an interesting observation that it's only Julie that makes those sounds among the babies in our circle of friends. ALL Swedish babies say "Ga-ga", "Ma-ma" or "Da-da"! Dear Swedish friends please correct me if I'm wrong.

For now my husband speaks only French with her and I speak Swedish and sing French songs... the thing is that the songs and their melodies have stuck to my head as a chewing gum and refuse to leave. So now nothing else can fit in my head but...

...Savez-vous planter les choux, A la mode á la mode... Bonjour ma cousine, Bonjour mon cousin germain... Alouette gentille aloutte, Aluette je te plumerai...

Well, hopefully I will improve my French at least... Arrreu, arreu! Thank you A and L for the great music cd with "Chansons et comptines de notre enfance"!!

For the Swedish people that know the song Alouette: The song is actually about "plucking" the feathers from a lark (Swedish: lärka), presumably in preparation for cooking. A lark is considered to be a small bird considered to be suitable for food. All the verses are the same except the part of the body... the head, the nose, the eyes, the tail... a pretty cruel children song when you listen to the lyrics ;-)!