Bi...No, Tri... No, Quadlingual?

We know one of the challenges Zane is going to face when he comes home will be language. After doing a little more research on Zane's family, tribe, and region, I discovered that the language spoken in his first home and maybe his second was not the language that he is speaking now. 

Zane currently speaks Amharic. His nannies also speak Amharic. We had kind thought that they were maybe trying to teach him a few English words to help with his transition, but we can't help to laugh every time we hear his new "English" words.

Today, I received an adorable video of Zane waving to us and playing with a toy. Heart melting. I wish I could share it with you. The funny thing is the lady who sent me the video made the same comment that two others have made. The nannies were quite proud and wanted them to catch Zane saying goodbye to the camera. The funny thing is Zane is saying "Ciao". Yes. The ITALIAN word for goodbye. Now don't get me wrong, I think it would be absolutely adorable for him to say "Ciao" all the time, but I after hearing this the second time, I started to question the English abilities of his teachers. Today was the third time, and we just laughed at our sweet little African boy learning "Ciao". So I had to write about it because I don't want to forget about these sweet little memories of his early years. 

We know that Zane is potty trained except at night. We thought it would be helpful for him to know some English words referring to potty since we will be on a 16+hour flight and will need some communication. In one of our monthly updates, the nannies were elated to write that he now says the word "Kaka". I died! Okay, he knows "Bye" in Italian, and now he knows Spanish!

Through different conversations I have had with other Ethiopian moms, I have learned that Zane's nannies speak minimal to no English. So the English lessons probably weren't going as well as I had imagined.

He calls Jeffrey "Baba" which I think is adorable.  "Baba" is father in many African languages. 

Although almost every word we have heard him say in English isn't really English at all, there is one word he knows and I am pretty partial to it. Zane knows how to say "Momma" and "Mommy". I can't wait to hear those sweet English words in person. Who am I kidding! I can't wait to hear any of these sweet words in person. 

Zane, whether you are speaking Amharic, Italian, Spanish, or any other language you might learn, we can't wait to listen to what you have to say. We promise to be patient and try to do our best to understand what you are trying to say. We know you are going to be frustrated and maybe scared, and that is okay. We hope that you will know when we speak to you we are speaking to you with LOVE, but we may giggle a little when you say "Ciao" for the first time. 



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