Some children are more lucky than others. Their parents teach them one or more languages while they are still in their cradle. Imagine learning English, Yiddish, French, or Russian without a textbook, workbook, or blackboard, and without assignments that required the use of a pencil and paper! Just by hearing the language spoken at home and by using it, some children become bilinguals or trilinguals before they start school.

According to a story, Berlitz (of the language school fame) was raised in a multi-lingual household. The parents spoke English, the cook spoke French, the butler spoke German, the maid spoke Italian, the gardener spoke Japanese, the chauffeur spoke Danish, and the housekeeper spoke Spanish. Okay. I couldn't find the source for the story, and I may have mixed up the languages a bit, but you get the idea. He picked up all of these languages when he was little so that he could manage in his home. He had to speak the appropriate language to the right person, and they in turn responded only in their own native language.

It worked.

Ben Yehuda and others learned more than one language. Historically, Jews mastered at least two languages. Until recent times, this was their secret of success in commerce. No matter which port in which their boat docked, they could talk with their fellow Jews in a mutually understandable language. Of course, these languages were flexible, so each one adopted words from the host country, but the basic language was so strong that there was no difficulty understanding it in any location.

Parents can sometimes offer their children a bonus of a full knowledge of more than one language. However, some children may not want to take advantage of this gift.

Today, some people feel that it is more difficult to learn a second language. As a result, Jews are losing their bilingual abilities.

This shame and desire to speak like the surrounding population caused beautiful languages like Yiddish and Ladino to all but fade from existence. What a shame.

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