Language 2

I am being told that Charlie's vocabulary is increasing by 2-3 words a day, but I feel that I have to take this with a pinch of salt. I have heard Charlie being told to say words then when he repeats them parrot fashion they want to add the word to the list.

I am not including words such as these in my list until I can see him using them in some real context. I am giving him a little leeway and if he is using the word in the correct context, but I still doubt he understands the word, I am giving it to him. IE I previously wrote that he was using the word "ky" for Kilo. I am sure that he doesn't understand this word, but he often stands on the scales looks down at the numbers and says "ky". This is good enough for me to add the word to the list.

New Vietnamese words are:


Tu = wardrobe (15 July)
Chay = run (15 July)
Ban = friend (14 July)
Nuoc = water (12 July)
Mo cua = open the door (12 July)
Tha = give (10 July)
Kieng = glasses (8 July)
Mo = open (July)
Lay = get (7 July)
Cu = willy (6 July)
Bung = tummy (6 July)
Bin bin = beep beep (6 July)
Vui = happy (6 July)
Ngon = tastes good (6 July)
Di ve = go home (6 July)
Di ra = go out (6 July)
Tai = ear (4 July)
Do = red (2 July) He may actually think this means traffic lights.
Co = neck (2 July)
Me = mother
Cua = door
Gau = bear (teddy bear)
Vao = in
Moi = new (he got new shoes so is saying this, but I am unconvinced he really understands)

English

Park (mid August)
Zoo (mid August)
Gate (mid August)
Door (mid August
Key (mid August)
Fish (mid August)
Hello (25 July) (actually sounds more French than English)
Go (13 July)
Home (12 July)
Up

Khmer

Haven't heard Charlie speaking any Khmer yet, but both of his maids/nannies are Vietnamese who come from a place near the Cambodian border and I would say that one of them actually looks Khmer. I sometimes hear them speaking Khmer, especially on the telephone, and Charlie does occasionally listen to Khmer music. Probably wouldn't know a Khmer word if I heard one.

18 months!

In 2 days' time Charlie will be 18 months old. I notice that I haven't posted any pictures of Charlie for sometime so here are a few pictures that were taken within the last few weeks.

Language

I estimate that about 90% of the language that Charlie hears from people (excluding TV and music) is in Vietnamese with the remainder being in English. Because of this, and because Vietnamese words are generally much shorter than English words I assumed that the vast majority of Charlie's initial vocabulary would be Vietnamese.

His comprehension is without a doubt considerably better in Vietnamese and he seems to understand a surprising amount. The lexemes below are the ones which we can remember that he can say with reasonable clarity:

Vietnamese

Ky = kilo (22 June)
Bu = suck/drink (22 June)

Ve = go home (21 June)

Xe = vehicle (20 June)
Uong = drink (18 June)

Chua = no/not yet (18 June)
Baba = Dad
Da = kick
Giay = shoes
Choi = play
Di = go
Dau = hurt
Danh = hit
Mua = rain
Ra = out
Bo = cow
A = yes
Ca = fish
To = a small bowl
Troi oi = Oh my God! (not as strong in Vietnamese)
Cai gi?= What? What is it?
Di dau vay? = Where are you going? (grammatically simpler in Vietnamese)
Mummummummum = eat
Lalalala = His attempt at singing
Vietnamese version of various animal noises such as: tiger, dog, duck, mouse, and a few more

English

Bye (24 June)
Dad
Ball
Car
Star

I conclude that as Charlie is already making simple sentences he can probably say much more than I have listed.