Monday, September 8, 2008

Parlez-vous Francais? Habla Espanol?

Thank GOODNESS I am multi-lingual, or else my husband my never be able to comprehend another electronic device in our home AGAIN.

I must be attempting to apply one of those "Language Immersion" techniques on Greyson, right?  Ohhhh no.  Though the kid knows how to count to 20 in English, 10 in Spanish, and 5 in Chinese.  We were working in Italian, but since I don't speak it (not that I speak Chinese, EITHER, but... well... he taught himself THAT - honestly), I kinda gave up on it a bit, and have since moved on to many, MANY other things than counting in other languages.

No, my son has REPROGRAMMED practically every technological device in the house that has a laguage option other than English.  Which, hehe, living in the United States, is pretty much EVERYTHING.  The television - it's been both in French AND Spanish.  The DVD player?  Both again.  Our cordless phone no longer says "TALK" when you turn it on - it says "PARLER."  *I* can't even figure out how to GET to the place he was to change it BACK.  He frequently likes to watch a movie with French subtitles and Spanish over-dubbing (sometimes with English tv-provided captioning as well).  Or vice-versa.  He plays one of his various 'Calliou' games (does NAYONE have an explanation as to WHY that child has such an ODD name when NO ONE ELSE ANYWHERE does?  No?  Oh, you've never even questioned it.  Oh, sorry.  Heh.) in one of the above-mentioned languages.

And when you ask him, "Why?"  He tells you he doesn't know, laughs, and continues along his merry way, working through the game in a language that I have to drag out of the cobwebbed confines of my brain that was HIGH SCHOOL and try and keep up with what they are saying.  Ya know, in case he needs help along the way.

Which, somehow, he rarely does.  Because this child now owns his own friggin LAPTOP and can even walk himself through an INSTALLATION PROCESS fro a game that isn't on his computer yet.  Yikes.  I know.  I don't wanna know what Kindergarten is going to be like for his POOR TEACHER, my GOD.

So, while he programs his brain to function in multiple languages not even spoken in our home... does anyone have a clue how to get my phone to speak English to me again?? 

Side story:  I misplaced my cell phone last week.  I was wandering through the house, calling it from the home phone, KNOWING that it had charge because of the 5 rings before it hit voicemail... yet hearing NO significant "All the Wrong Reasons" being sung from the location of my phone.

I *finally* remembered where it was... and also why I couldn't hear it.  It was, indeed where I had left it... but a certain *someone* had taken it out, turned off everything BUT the alarm sounds, and PUT IT BACK.

Thankfully, I had not missed any important calls!  (But, that would incinuate that I actually EVER get important calls, so... hence why my phone was missing for something like 4 days before I actually REALIZED it was missing.  Heh.  Go me!)

2 Harmonizations:

moo said...

wow! I wonder if there's some sort of class you can enroll him in ... gymboree or kindermusik or something that will help stimulate him more ... it sounds like his brain is working in overdrive and needs things to occupy him!

Valerie said...

Our phone is currently stuck in espanol. Thankfully I know what it all means, though Im not technicalogically savvy enough to fix it back to english.