Bilingual Children’s Speech Development: Why Monolingual Norms Don’t Apply

If you’re raising a bilingual or multilingual child, you’ve probably heard comments like:

• ➡️ “Why is their pronunciation funny?”
• ➡️ “Are they struggling because they mix languages?”
• ➡️ “They don’t sound like other kids their age!”

It’s natural to wonder about your child’s language development, especially if well-meaning family members, teachers, or even healthcare professionals compare them to monolingual children. But here’s the truth: bilingual language development doesn’t follow the same timeline or patterns as monolingual development – and that’s perfectly normal!

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Why This Topic Matters to Me

I’ve seen so many children being referred to speech therapy when it wasn’t necessary, simply because their language development patterns didn’t fit some theoretical norms. While speech therapists do incredibly valuable work, I can’t help but feel that some children are sent there too quickly, and sometimes the interventions do more harm than good. In my experience teaching English to adults, I’ve even met people who struggle to make certain sounds because they were “therapied out of them” as children due to suspected speech impediments.

That’s why I want to share this post; to help parents understand what’s normal in bilingual speech development, so we can make informed decisions about whether our children really need professional support.

👇 So this is what you need to know…! 👇

Bilingual Kids Get Less Input Per Language

A child growing up with one language hears thousands of words daily in that single language. A bilingual child, however, is splitting their exposure between two (or more) languages. So, yes, that means they might hear certain sounds or word patterns less frequently, which can influence how they pronounce words or how quickly they master certain grammar structures.

This may mean that they don’t speak and use language in the same way as their monolingual peers. But they never will – multilingual minds and speakers of several languages generally use those languages and cognitive skills in different ways from monolingual speakers. But this doesn’t mean the children who are processing everything twice or more in different languages are “behind” or “struggling”. It simply means they are working with a different set of experiences, and towards a different end goal!

Pronunciation Differences Are Normal

Bilingual children often transfer features from one language to another, especially when it comes to learning pronunciation. For example:

• A bilingual child learning English and Mandarin might pronounce Shoe as “soo” because Mandarin doesn’t have the same “sh” sound.
• A bilingual child learning English and Spanish might pronounce Shoe as “choo” influenced by Spanish pronunciation.
• Meanwhile, a monolingual English, or say, German-speaking child would typically have no significant issues pronouncing “sh” in Shoe. 👟👞👠

None of these variations mean the child has a speech problem, but these are just natural differences that occur while they’re learning, based on their language background! Languages have different combinations of sounds in their “phoneme inventories” – and children will often use the closest, easy-to-pronounce equivalent first, as their main focus is on communication.

So, do not worry if your child seems to have a slight accent in any of the languages they speak. They are working on making themselves understood first, and the fine-tuning will come later.

Grammar Usage Develops Differently, Too

Just like with pronunciation, bilingual children may combine grammatical structures and vocabulary from both languages as they figure out how each system works. This is completely normal as two sets of new knowledge are being assimilated by their bilingual minds. It’s the same kind of cognitive process that leads to my adult learners using their mother-tongue word order in the foreign language they’re learning.

For example, my daughter says:

• “More eat!” 🍎 (Using German word order in English, instead of “eat more”)
• “Mama go auch up” 💧 (Using German auch [also] in its German sentence position)

These kinds of sentence structures aren’t mistakes, they are completely normal, and actually astounding demonstrations of learning! They show that bilingual kids are actively learning how to organise words and phrases in two language systems.

With time and enough exposure and interaction, they will naturally learn to separate the rules and vocabulary of each language.

Bilingualism Is Not a Problem!

One of my biggest takeaways for parents is: don’t judge your child, or other multilingual children, by monolingual standards!

• 🚫 Don’t panic if their pronunciation sounds a bit different.
• 🚫 Don’t assume they are behind just because they mix and switch between languages.
• 🚫 Don’t let others pressure you into speech therapy unless there’s a real concern.

Instead, focus on consistent exposure to both languages, creating a positive, language-rich environment, and supporting their speech development in both (or all) languages. Over time, almost all bilingual children naturally sort out their languages and develop clear, fluent speech at their own pace!

That said, if you have genuine concerns about your child’s ability to communicate effectively, you might choose to seek professional advice. In most cases, this will probably provide reassurance rather than alarm. Just like physical growth and development, language acquisition follows individual timelines, and the so-called ‘norms’ are very generalised.

Want to Learn More?

Bilingual language development is fascinating, and understanding how it works can help you feel confident in supporting your child.

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