Quote: They also say that when exposed in infancy to the sounds of a language, they retain the ability to distinguish those sounds throughout their lives, making it easier for them to "relearn" the language at an older age. Your kids will be able to speak Gaelic at some point if they want to, apparently with little or no accent. Were you brought up speaking it from birth?
Exposure to the sounds is important. I remember working to "get" certain sounds. I have heard from native speakers that I don't have an "American accent." My Russian teacher last year said I had good pronunciation, too, so I guess that work pays off. Irish has more sounds and fewer letters than English, so the written words can look formidable to beginners. Thankfully the spelling is much more predictable than in English.
I learned Irish as an adult and I am not yet a fluent speaker. That was something I fell away from during the M. STBXW never participated in any of "the Irish stuff," wouldn't even join me and the kids at Christmas parties, despite having some Irish ancestry (and some Scottish, too) herself.
Quote: it's getting really hard to deal with my own stress (alone) while listening to S.'s (which is directed at me).
It's a big change coming for both of you, and maybe he's not as prepared as (or is preparing differently than) you. I looked forward to becoming a father. Having a family was part of the reason I wanted to marry. Maybe S is still working through what it will mean to him, and the stress comes out to you. You at least have us online and "real world" friends like H2H. I get the impression his 20 something crowd isn't going to be the right place for him to get support and validation while he adjusts to the idea of parenthood.
Hang in there. You're doing great.
Thanks,
K
My sitch More importantly, Light A Million Candles
