Yes, his nanny, as well as I, only speak and read English to him but he does understand the difference between the 2 languages.
He gauges the direction each language reads (Japanese : up / down) or the way the pages are turned (Japanese : from left to right). He can tell right away if someone is speaking Japanese or English even though he doesn't know any of the words.
When we were in NY, Alex and I often went to this Japanese restaurant nearby when Ken was late at work. It was probably the only time Alex got to see me speak some Japanese to someone besides Ken. I used to say "Su-mi-ma-sen" when I waved to a waitstaff, had tea served or dropped something on the floor. It essentially means "excuse me". Alex picked it up quickly and he managed to pronounce it flawlessly at the age of 2.5 years old. Whenever we would go to a Japanese restaurant, he would try this word out on people.
Alex has a Japanese name alongside his English one. He is called in his Japanese name when spoken to in Japanese and English name at other times. But he does not let me call him in his Japanese name, mainly because I don't speak the language well.
One day I started out with his Japanese name and just kept on going much to his protest.
Then he had an epiphany.
"Oh, I know! This is Su-mi-ma-sen! You are saying Su-mi-ma-sen!"
No I'm not using that word at all.
What is he saying?
Then I had an epiphany.
I realized he never understood what the word "Su-mi-ma-sen" meant.
He thought it was an English word that stood for "Japanese language".
So when he's in a Japanese environment, he would get excited and say "Su-mi-ma-sen" just to reiterate the fact that he realizes he's in a Japanese place.
And all this time I thought we were raising a multilingual child....
He's 4 now and nowhere near speaking Japanese.
