My son does many things that prove to be a source of unending hilarity and pride to me:
He says "Matisse" in French with a perfect French accent -- or at least it is so to my ear, which means he is likely saying "Matisse" in French with a very thick Russian accent (as my kind Parisian friends referred to it last summer, "un accent à couper au couteau" -- I still shake in indignation). He brings me a book of Matisse's work, articulates the artist's name, and demands that we discuss several things of interest: the boats, the lighthouse, the naked men, the red room, the piano-playing mama, etc. He then brings me a book of Van Gogh's paintings, announces in Russian: "Van Gog!" and proceeds to identify various protagonists of various paintings as Van Gogh (Van Gog) himself. He cements his identifications by pointing to the small Van Gogh doll with a detachable ear we proudly display on one of the bookshelves.
My son corrects his father's pronunciation of Russian words. Often randomly and incorrectly, confusing the poor man still further.
"Cheburashka" is a really hard word to pronounce. One knows it starts with a "ch"; one knows it looks like a dog -- "sobaka" (a.k.a. "babaka", my son's first word, my son's go-to word, my son's favorite word). The result: that's right, "Chewbacca."
And while we are on the subject of Cheburshka:
In an attempt to teach my child language through play, I purchased him a set of blocks inscribed with Russian letters, each of which features an image from a fairy tale. Or purports to do so. Sometimes, the artist's imagination runs amock. Cheburashka (on letter "ч") looks like a sickly Teletubby, for instance. And what do you do with a Russian equivalent of "Y" ("й"), with which not a single fairy-tale character's name begins? Why, you exercise your imagination, and simply invent one! Like "Yogurt", for instance... My son brings this block to me often. "This," I say, pointing, "is the Little Red Riding Hood. This," I continue, turning the block over in my hand, "is one of the Three Little Piggies. And this, honey, is Yogurt, the Probiotic Hero..."
