Ask-A-Linguist Message Details
| Subject: | Speech Therapy for Multilingual Child |
|---|---|
| Question: |
Our daughter has been taken speechtherapy to learn to say the ''R'' instead of the ''L'', as she went to the German school they did teach her to say the R correctly, however, as they do in German, the sound coming from the back of the throat. However, she also speaks Spanish and Swiss German and English, where the ''R'' is pronounced in the front of the mouth (with the tongue by the front teeth). Problem is, she now can say High German words correctly with the ''R'' from the back, but when she speaks in Spanish and Swiss German she can't and still uses the ''L'' instead. Question: can a speech therapist teach the ''R'' to be used in any language or do we have to get someone for each language? I am frustrated with our current speech therapist who doesn't care that my daughter says it wrong in other languages, as long as she did her job with High German... Any advice and or pointing me in the right direction is greatly appreciated! (P.S. My daughter is 6 years old.) Thank you in advance! |
| Reply: |
A speech-language therapist is indeed not a speech-in-a-particular-language therapist, although the difference is not often clear among clinicians and lay people alike. If your your girl’s therapist “doesn’t care”, as you say, or perhaps doesn’t know how to solve this matter, your choice may unfortunately have to be to find another one who does. If you so wish, do feel free to contact me privately about this! Madalena |
| Reply From: | Madalena Cruz-Ferreira click here to access email |
| Date: | 17-Sep-2012 |
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