Hi.
My husband and I are expecting our first child this month. We would like to raise a bilingual child, but are not sure how best to approach this.
Okay, some background information. My husband speaks Dutch (native) and English. I speak English (native), Cantonese, and Dutch. We usually speak English to each other at home, but speak Dutch to the family and others in the community. And I speak Cantonese to my parents, who call once a week and visit us about once a year.
We would like to raise our baby to speak both Dutch and English. Our plan is to continue to speak English to each other and Dutch to friends/family. But when we speak directly to the baby, I will speak English and my husband will speak Dutch. I wonder if our baby will be confused, when we speak one language to her and another language(s) to others (and each other). Has anyone tried this and does it work?
Thanks,
Anna
