Héctor and Elaine became parents just a few months after COVID lockdowns were introduced, which brought about some challenges in their one-parent one-language plans.

As remote working brought English into more non-native speakers’ homes, Elaine and Héctor were well-equipped tor trilingual child-raising. But their guest for this episode, Ilaria Zambotti, has taken a different approach.

• Trilingualism in Family, School and Community

Around 90% of the world’s languages are tonal, meaning that unlike English, Spanish, or German, tone patterns are used to distinguish words and inflections. Speakers of tonal languages like Mandarin are more likely to develop perfect pitch, meaning they can tell what note is being played, without needing to hear another for reference.

In this episode, Héctor and Elaine explore music, tone, and its relationship to language learning.

• Learning the "Special Note": Evidence for a Critical Period for Absolute Pitch Acquisition
• Critical period hypothesis
• Scotch Snaps in Hip Hop, by Adam Neely
• Music, Language, and the Brain, by Aniruddh D Patel
• A Generative Theory of Tonal Music, by Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff
• The Potential Role of Music in Second Language Learning, by Ieva Zeromskaite

In this episode, Héctor and Elaine explore some of the questions you might want to consider when raising a child in a bilingual household:

Do you speak your partner’s language?

If not, are you willing to learn?

Do you live near other native speakers of your heritage language?

If you do, you can organise playdates to help with the language learning process. And if you aren’t so lucky, technology can help bridge the gap. A call with a relative can give them more exposure.

Elaine and Héctor also discuss the different opportunities for language learning that present themselves all the way through your child’s young life.