Partners from other countries?

red_devil

jakem wrote: »

Cheers for the replies, as I was curious, reason being is I have a friend who went on holiday to Turkey 12 years ago, met someone, in a space of a few months got married.
He couldnt speak english, well the odd word, and she couldnt speak turkish lol, so I couldnt get my head round what attracted them to each other, as I'm thinking, surely someone has to talk to the other one lol.

But, 12 years on they are still together, he speaks fantastic english, with a Turkish accent, and she can talk quite good turkish, with a london accent.:D

same as someone i know She went to live in the canaries and met a spaniard and they had a baby. I imagine her Spanish is very good now and his English better. The baby is learning two languages. They did have some differences with the different cultures and expectations etc. Even things like babys earpiercing they had different issues with.

honey9

My other half is from New Zealand so there's no language barrier, although sometimes (after nearly 10 years) we still get baffled by each other's slang or cultural references! We recently found a NZ website with loads of old Kiwi TV ads so he has been having a whale of a time reminiscing while I don't really get most of them

I've been over there a few times and loved it, although I don't think I'd want to live there at this stage in my life, it's very quiet.

spaghetti_monster

I'm English, OH is Dutch and we live in Holland.
His English is excellent - I can get by in Dutch (moved over 3 years ago), but I'm finding it's not the easiest language! It's true what people say - Dutch people speak such good English it can be hard to make that breakthrough and speak Dutch in everyday life.
On the plus side I quickly made my own friends who I could really have a laugh with, etc as there wasn't really a language barrier.
We try to speak Dutch as much as possible, but often slip back to English - it's much easier and that's how we got to know each other and what we spoke for the first few years of our relationship, so it's more natural.

We sometimes have the odd misunderstanding - usually from a difference in intonation/slightly wrong word. It's a bit weird sometimes - we almost have an argument and then realise it was just a language problem!

I'm also pregnant, so interesting to know how people deal with the various issues. I've generally heard that each parent speaks their own language to the child, and the child can easily learn both at the same time.

kavics17

My OH is Polish, I'm Hungarian and live in London. Met at Hammersmith station, he could hardly speak any English- but decided to go to language school 5 times a week to improve. 7 years on we're engaged, no problem with communication and it's definitely more fun having someone from a different country (not to mention the advantages of not having a conversation with the in-laws).

morocha

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AnnaLicious_2

I can't imagine what it would be like to move here if I spoke another language! Just speaking another dialect was a massive struggle. I also used to live in a very rural part of England, so was very isolated. Going to work was a massive uphill battle - getting a job, learning work place cultural differences, realising my job was rubbish and looking for another one.
Getting divorced was the worst time. It's very difficult at the best. But I was thousands of miles away from family and close friends, I had to idea how to do anything, and I had 3 days to get out of the house (bin bags of my possessions were left on the pavement). I have this memory of being sat on the kitchen floor of my new flat with a cooker manual in my hands, trying to work out how to set the clock so the cooker would turn on. If I was in America, I would know things like how to get a phone set up, how to see if the boiler is on, or even the names of electric companies. I didn't have anyone to ask and had to sort it all out on my own.
I did eventually learn these things, and much more. I think if I can pull myself through all of this, I can do anything!

little_evo

I'm American and married to my British husband. Eight years on and my accent is still intact.

georgiasmum

husband is Tunisian and it is a nightmare. Saw a solicitor today...

Nottoobadyet

spaghetti_monster wrote: »

I'm also pregnant, so interesting to know how people deal with the various issues. I've generally heard that each parent speaks their own language to the child, and the child can easily learn both at the same time.

No babies or plans for any here, but I know lots of mixed language couples and its such a blessing for the baby to be raised bilingual - it really sets them up well for language for the rest of their lives. I've heard that the trick is requiring the child to talk to you in your own language, not just understand when you talk to them, that way they really ingrain it.

I've also heard that it means it will take them longer to become verbal than for single language babies, but that its worth it! I wish I had gotten a second language from the start.

purplepardalis

My OH is from New Zealand and I have a similar situation to honey9. Whilst he now almost speaks without a Kiwi accent, I have started calling the kitchen work surface the 'bench' ! However I refuse to call clingfilm 'gladwrap'