Our quiz revealed that you are a trilingual household
This group’s biggest concern is to heighten exposure.
How is this relevant?
You have more in common with people in the same household constellation than friends who speak the same language.
You need people who speak your language for playdates and social interactions. You need people who are in the same household constellation to ask for advice.
Focus on negotiating space for your languages
There are two sub groups to our trilingual household constellation depending on whether you and your partner a) speak each other’s languages or b) don’t understand each other’s languages
If you belong to group a) each one of you needs to figure out their own way to heighten their language’s exposure levels but without cutting into each other’s realm, because you want to avoid pitching one minority language against another minority language.
If you belong to group b) you may find that your challenges actually closer match those of a bilingual minority parent. You just have the added difficulty of juggling two languages where they have only one to negotiate. Unfortunately, this may also mean that you have to face some tough trade-off decisions early on.
You also belong to group b) if you have more than three languages to balance. Some experts suggest it should be “four languages max” but whether that’s your goal will depend on your alternatives.
Visualise A Meadow: The more animals graze the more coordination is required.
How other trilingual households do it
We are here to help
You should focus your energy on figuring out how to negotiate more space for your languages.
If you feel unsure, go through these ten statements and download our map to raising multilingual children. This should give you some pointers.
If you are ready to take action, join us for one of our courses and meet other parents just like you.
Learn how to
negotiate space for your languages
