About me

Why I do what I do (for those of you who like stories)

When I was expecting my first child, I already held a degree in English and Spanish from the Faculty of Arts. As a proper philologist, I knew that bilingual upbringing was just as natural as monolingual one, and completely harmless to children. So, I had a decent amount of theoretical knowledge. What could possibly go wrong?

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Since my husband is a foreigner and we each have a different native language, it was clear from the start that our child would grow up bilingual. The only question was: in which languages, exactly? My husband was lobbying for English—even though his native language is Spanish—arguing that “English is more useful nowadays.” I countered with: “Almost everyone learns English sooner or later anyway.” Our endless linguistic debates were eventually cut short by the future grandmother, who firmly declared: “I want a grandchild who can talk to me in my language.”

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And that was that. The strategy of “me in Czech, husband in Spanish, and together a bit of everything” emerged spontaneously, without any grand parental strategy meetings over a flipchart. After our daughter was born, we stuck to the plan religiously. Shortly after her first birthday, her first words arrived. Then more. And more. Her vocabulary grew, simple sentences appeared, and everything looked exactly like the smart child development books described.

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Except for one tiny detail. The words were almost exclusively in Czech.

Our daughter clearly understood Spanish. When my husband said something to her, she reacted correctly. But her response? Always in Czech. Completely consistent and unwavering. Like a tiny national revivalist.

The longer this went on, the more nervous my husband became. Gradually, he started speaking Czech to her too. I remember trying to convince him: “Don’t switch to Czech. We want her to know Spanish too.” But he looked at me in sheer desperation and said a sentence I have heard from parents countless times since: “But I want to be able to communicate with my own child.” I tried to whip out my theoretical university knowledge, telling him that bilingual language acquisition can be a long process and the most important thing is to persist. But my husband is a pragmatist, and he asked me a question I couldn’t answer: “And how much longer am I supposed to wait?”

Good question. My answer? Absolutely zero. It turned out that my academic knowledge ended exactly where real life with a toddler began.

So, I started buying up books on bilingual upbringing, digging through scientific studies, and looking for answers. By that time, I was already keeping detailed records of my daughter’s vocabulary and language development. With the arrival of my second daughter, I became a total nutcase. What started as simple note-taking turned into full-blown linguistic research. I kept language development diaries, made spreadsheets, and enthusiastically analyzed children’s sentences in a way that normal people would probably find slightly disturbing.

But the more fascinated I became, the more I hit a wall: most high-quality scientific studies were locked behind expensive publisher paywalls. And because my desire for answers was apparently stronger than my common sense, a perfectly logical plan was born: apply for a Ph.D. program and gain (nearly) unlimited access to academic databases.

And so, ten years after graduation, I found myself back at the university—even though at my master’s graduation, I had sincerely sworn I would never step foot on academic soil again! :-D

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It was these exact questions that eventually led me to start this project. Because families usually don't need another complicated scientific paper full of jargon. They need empathy, support, practical information, and sometimes just to hear that what they are experiencing is completely normal.

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And how did it turn out with our firstborn? Gradually, she began sneakily mixing Spanish words into her Czech sentences with her dad. There were more and more of them, until one day, Spanish took over completely. By the time she was three, she spoke pure Spanish with her father.

Though… those two linguistic worlds still blend together from time to time. Because honestly—when you have two languages at your disposal, why not use both? Especially when a cucaracha is just so much funnier than a regular old cockroach.

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