Did I mention that Maya is getting seriously scary good at Arabic? She is like a language sponge right now. Today we ordered pizza for dinner. When the pizza delivery man came with the pizza, Miss Maya shouted "Izzayak" (How are You?) at him.
Then he asked her: "Ismik Eh?"
She said: "Maya".
For those of you who haven't figured it out already, "Ismik Eh" means "What is your name?"
She answered his question without anyone translating for her. How does she know what it means? I don't get it.
OK, in all fairness, Maya's Amharic and English are both way stronger than her Arabic. She has words and phrases in Arabic, but I don't think she has anywhere near the level of comprehension. But still. We never made any effort to teach her a single word of Arabic. I know she hears it at the park every day, and she hears me speak it on the phone. But no one that I know of actually speaks Arabic directly to her. I am really surprised by how much she is picking up.
Oh yeah, did I mention that when she wants a kiss, she asks for a "Bousa" (the Arabic word). She knows both the Amharic word (Samie) and the English word, but she is a little rebel and she prefers to ask in Arabic.
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
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