About Baby Proof: Baby Proof is a blog series that breaks down the latest child development research into simple, helpful tips for parents of young children. We translate big studies into bite-sized advice—so you can feel confident knowing what’s best for your baby, backed by science. [4-minute read]
If you’ve ever considered raising a bilingual or multilingual child, you’ve probably asked yourself what many parents have wrestled with: “Am I confusing my child by mixing languages?”
Maybe you speak English primarily but were raised in a Spanish-speaking household, or maybe grandparents use one language while parents use another. Perhaps you find yourself naturally switching between languages during conversations, sometimes even within the same sentence.
For generations, many families have worried that mixing languages might slow language development or make it harder for children to learn words. New research suggests you can set that concern aside.
The Concordia Infant Research Lab recently established that mixing languages does not negatively affect toddlers’ vocabulary development. In fact, researchers found that children growing up with multiple languages are remarkably capable of navigating different words, sounds and dialects from a very young age.
Code mixing and speaking multiple languages to kids
Language mixing, or code mixing, happens when a person uses two or more languages within the same conversation, or even the same sentence. For example, “Nálí is coming over for dinner tonight,” (Navajo) or “It’s time to put on your zapatos,” (Spanish).
“Code mixing is a normal part of bilingual development. One reason some children code mix is that it happens frequently in their language communities — children are just doing what they hear adults around them do.” — Casey Lew-Williams, National Library of Medicine
For many multilingual families, it’s how communication flows naturally. Parents often blend dialects for many reasons:
- There isn’t a perfect translation
- A word comes to mind more easily in one language
- They want to introduce a new word to their child
A little goes a long way in language learning
“My niece attended the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) Head Start. She was introduced to the Language, Literacy and Culture in Tribal Communities strategy through books that covered numbers, colors and animals in Mohave, Chemehuevi, Navajo and Hopi,” says First Things First Tribal Regional Specialist Shawni Laffoon.
“Now that she is in kindergarten, she still remembers and counts in Mohave.” What stood out to Shawni the most? Her niece’s Head Start teacher, who is bilingual herself, understood how important it is for children to be exposed to the Native languages of the community they are growing up in.
“Seeing my niece carry those words with her reminds me how meaningful early exposure can be in helping our languages be present with the next generation,” says Shawni.
Does speaking multiple languages confuse my child?
Spoiler alert: no. It’s a common and flexible way to communicate in multilingual homes, even mid-sentence or with standalone words. As it turns out, young children are far more adaptable than many adults realize.
In a study of nearly 400 toddlers from multilingual homes, the Concordia Infant Research Lab confirmed that blending languages does not hinder young children from building their vocabulary.
From infancy, children’s brains are designed to recognize patterns in speech. They learn who speaks which language, when certain words are used and how different sounds fit together. What may seem complicated from an adult perspective is often simply part of a child’s everyday experience.
When is the right time to introduce a new language to my child?
Worried if your child needs to master one language before introducing another? Nope, you can start today. “Rather than confuse children, language mixing can be a real teaching tool that parents have in their toolbox,” says Krista Byers-Heinlein, the Concordia University Research Chair specializing in bilingualism. “Our research finds that it is either neutral or beneficial when it comes to vocabulary.”
Think about it this way: a child who knows the words for “dog” in English and Navajo isn’t confused. They’re learning two labels for the same concept. Rather than replacing one another, those languages become additional tools for communication.
