I always joke, as the daughter of a Japanese immigrant mom, that though I didn’t learn to speak Japanese, I know “Mom Japanese” really well. “Stop fighting!” “Be quiet!” etc. As well as all the basic polite phrases and the ritual phrases one says as you leave the house and when you return home. I didn’t teach those to my children, they didn’t feel like “my” words, they were my mom’s. I do especially miss the going out/coming home phrases and I’ve been recently wondering if I want to try to get my husband to do it. It would be SO foreign for him, and for me to hear him speak any Japanese. But it’s such a nice ritual, and helped me feel safe and loved growing up.
I love "Mom Japanese" so so true. So interesting about feeling like they weren't your words - I know it can go both ways that in some instances, there is a feeling of recreating our own childhoods with our kids but then if there are multiple languages involved, there are so many more layers. And it is so wonderful to have words that make us feel love and safety. Let me know if you do end up doing it an dhow it goes!
I always joke, as the daughter of a Japanese immigrant mom, that though I didn’t learn to speak Japanese, I know “Mom Japanese” really well. “Stop fighting!” “Be quiet!” etc. As well as all the basic polite phrases and the ritual phrases one says as you leave the house and when you return home. I didn’t teach those to my children, they didn’t feel like “my” words, they were my mom’s. I do especially miss the going out/coming home phrases and I’ve been recently wondering if I want to try to get my husband to do it. It would be SO foreign for him, and for me to hear him speak any Japanese. But it’s such a nice ritual, and helped me feel safe and loved growing up.
I love "Mom Japanese" so so true. So interesting about feeling like they weren't your words - I know it can go both ways that in some instances, there is a feeling of recreating our own childhoods with our kids but then if there are multiple languages involved, there are so many more layers. And it is so wonderful to have words that make us feel love and safety. Let me know if you do end up doing it an dhow it goes!