Tataouine-Les-Bains

Today is Friday. We are at the breakfast table, chatting away before the school run. BK1 (7 in march) has been showing a particular interest in music lately. She wants to take her flute with her to play "Frère Jacques" at Golden time*.
I have been thinking of enrolling her at a music class, have been holding off as she will start music at school from September. Now I am thinking of finding a music teacher before then. The following conversation takes place, as usual, in a mix of arabic and french.

Me: "Would you like to have music lessons?"
BK1: "Maybe, yes"
Me: "Well, I will try to find a music teacher, somewhere in our village, not in Tataouine-Les-Bains"
BK1, puzzled: "Where?"

I was rolling with laughter. I had to explain that Tataouine-Les-Bains was an imaginary location to signify a small, very remote place.

It has to be said that Tataouine, a city in Tunisia, well and truly exists.  It used to be a penal colony during the French protectorate of Tunisia. Star Wars fans will recognise here the name of Luke Skywalker's home planet.

Tataouine-Les-Bains on the other hand is fictional. The appending of Les Bains (baths) is sarcastic as Tataouine is pretty arid and dry.

Equivalent expressions, that may be mistaken for real places in France:

• Aux cinq cents diables
• Clochemerle
• Perpète-la-Galette
• Perpète-les-Andouillettes
• Perpète-les-Oies
• Perpète-les-Olivettes
• Pétaouchnoc
• Trifouillis-les-Chaussettes
• Trifouillis-les-Oies
• Trou-en-Cambrousse

* Golden Time in a Primary school is a time for relaxation and fun as a reward for good behaviour during the week. Arrrgh!

German? Nope

3 hours after we left Germany, back home, eating.

BK2 (to BK1): hungry comme anaya ("hungry like me")

One short sentence, 3 languages, no German!

Boo hoo hoo!

Wait, I am switching now

Full conversation with Oma at the breakfast table, about the forthcoming trip to the zoo. All in German of course. Then BK2 goes: Warte Oma, ich muss was zu BK1 sagen. BK1, kayen Eliott fi pre-school tai yeddi toujours "Dear Zoo". (Wait Grandma, I must tell BK1 something. BK1, there is Eliott in my pre-school who always borrows "Dear Zoo") Mother-in-law just looks bewildered!

Missed opportunity? Hope not

Today we had a party to celebrate the end of the year, and the beginning of a new era for our babywearing group, Slinging in the Rain.
Atending the party was a lovely couple, first-time parents to a two-week old baby. The little girl was so sweet.

As it happens, the dad is English and the mum is Chinese. They heard me speak to BK2, and more importantly heard her reply in her usual gibberish of Arabic+French+English. They wondered what languages we were speaking, and seemed pretty impressed with our mix of languages.

They want to raise their daughter bilingual, but they prefer to wait until she is one. They hope that by doing so, their daughter would not have a Chinese accent when speaking English. Really, why? I don't know, because I did not ask. I was afraid of being too intrusive.

So I simply explained OPOL and ML, and left it at that. I hope they will go off and do their own research. I hope they will realise that the best way to prevent their daughter from having a Chinese accent when speaking English, is for the two to speak their respective mother tongues!

Flat Egg

This morning, breakfast time.

BK2: what is that? (points at BK1's plate)
BK1: flat egg
BK2: ah

Me, thinking: what?

Turns out she translated the French name "œuf au plat". Obviously. 

Sleep Talking

Late at night, Babelmum and I are almost asleep. Suddenly we hear a voice from the girls' room.

Babelmum: who was that?
Me: BK2
Babelmum: what language did she speak?
Me: dunno

I love how in our house the second question was not 'what did she say?'

Ball not Bowl

I have just brought BK2 (who will be 4 in Febraury) from pre-school. As usual, the following conversation takes place in a mix of Arabic, French and English.

BK2: "S iqoul Bowl pour Ballon en Anglais" (S says Bowl for Ballon in English.)
Me: "Kifach lazem iqoul?" (How should he say it?)
BK2: "Ball" - with a pronounced emphasis on the "a", betraying her Northern-Englishness. Sweet...