Stahlke Adoption

More on Language

"Give it to him."

"Mama, I pick up music in the little car."

Kola's statements above are in fairly good English. Jonathan and I did, however, have to decipher their meanings. In the first statement, Kola chose the correct form of "he" but actually intended "me." When we address him, we seldom use the word "me" and "I" so he hasn't learned them as quickly.

Last Saturday, Kola and I searched for his music handouts for Ukrainian school. I thought that he left them in our Cavalier (the little car). So this morning when he wanted to "pick up" music, I understood that we would look for his music. When he dressed quickly for school and diligently helped to clear the table, however, I realized that he wanted to "pick out" the music in the car on the way to school. The child who gets ready quickly, helps with the table, and doesn't fight with siblings is given the reward of choosing the radio station or CD in the car. To a new English speaker, "pick up" and "pick out" seem pretty similar. I remember learning prepositions in German and making far worse errors!

posted by Stahlkes @ 10:55 AM