A fun way to learn a language is through children's songs. Just like singing the "ABC's" to learn the alphabet, singing these catchy tunes help you learn and memorize things that you may otherwise struggle with. Some nursery songs are pretty silly, but they still teach a lot about expressing yourself. Even if you don't have children to practice with, you can still enjoy these songs yourself!
If you grew up a bilingual household, you may already know some songs. You may find that, when you take a fresh look, with an adult's perspective and the incentive of learning a language, you notice all kinds of grammar, vocabulary, and idioms. Even the simplest song can teach you something new.
For example, when I was a child, my mother sung me children's songs in Spanish. One was about a little duckling (Un Patito) who could sing and dance, but then became sad and sick. My mother changed the original ending from a dead duck to a sick duck, for our sakes.
What changed the happy singing dancing duckling to a sick and dying one? The cause of his change in health had something to do with the sun, "cuando se pon el sol". Now, to convert from Spanish to English... I always thought I knew what "se pon el sol" meant, because my interpretation made so much sense to me. Ahh - the birth of Spanglish!
Children know a lot of things. I knew that "cuando" meant "when". I knew that "el sol" meant "the sun". I knew that "se pon" was a form of the verb "poner". I knew that "poner" means "to put." I knew that ducklings like the rain, because my picture books and advertisements showed ducks happily splashing in puddles, wearing little rain suites.
This made things perfectly clear! The sun was "put" ("se pon") in the sky! Yes, of course - the duckling would sing and dance in the dark rainy cloudy weather, and became sad when the sun was "put" in the sky, meaning when it came out from behind the clouds!
Make sense? Yes, to a child... And, yes, to me as an adult who was never corrected in her childhood translation. Actually "se pon el sol" does not mean the sun is appearing. Quite the contrary; it means the sun is setting!
As I delve into the inner workings of these nursery rhymes in Spanish, I grow to love them even more. Better yet, this creates more special moments with my mother, and gives us both a really good laugh!
Kids's songs are a wonderful resource to learn another language. Your children, grandchildren, and parents will enjoy them with you. You can honor your heritage and pass it on, or expand your cultural depth with a language that is new to you. Doing this is plain old good for the heart.
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