For our preultimate Sing and Sign lesson, we are covering family members. Even though naming relatives is straightforward in English, my partner still mixes up the words cousin and uncle, and the words mother-in-law and stepmother. I told him he would never have survived growing up in a Cantonese household and showed him one of of my favourite videos: The Complicated Chinese Family Tree.
The Simpler Family Tree(s)
Whilst Off the Great Wall’s video is very entertaining it’s a bit too overwhelming to actually learn any Cantonese from it! As an alternative, I’ve created smaller family trees that make up the forest starting with blood relatives on both our mother and father’s sides of the family.
These were super fun to make and I’ve got more mini family trees planned that will cover siblings, in-laws, and blended families. Follow me on instagram @mamabearcantonese to be the first to see them!
Signs of the Week
We’ve already covered how to sign mammy and daddy so this week, we are focusing on the extended family. Here we have the signs for our grandparents, aunts and uncles. When you are taking your little one to visit relatives, you can sign the relative to help them learn who is who. Also, feel free to use these signs when saying the persons name or nickname- baby sign language is about catering signs to your family.
What relatives would you like to know the names and signs for? Just let me know below. And of course, if you wish to strengthen your baby sign language, you can review our previous signing lessons and our Quizlet deck. Happy Sunday and happy signing!
P.S. You can support Mama Bear Cantonese on Patreon. From £1 a month, you can access editable versions of all my resources as well as bonus content. Your generosity will help cover this site’s running costs. 多謝 do1 ze6!
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