Words can be very funny things. Both funny-haha and funny-weird. And sometimes both simultaneously. Language is a fascinating thing. Any language. Any dialect. Any accent.
And especially when spoken by very young children.
My three-year-old twins have been quite verbal for a long while now. They started talking early – and now rarely stop unless they’re sleeping. 😉 And some of the sentences that exit their mouths are very funny, indeed. Sometimes, simply because they’re still trying to learn the language. A few examples of this phenomenon:
When she’s really happy about something: “I’m SO exciged!”
When he smelled something yucky: “Dad, the air pooped!”
With a big, bright smile on her beautiful little face: “A gankful (thankful) heart is a happy heart!”
Getting his sister’s attention: “YOU need to stop talking to ME! I need to talk to YOU!”
Trying to describe the tea she had with Mommy (and including a bit of lunch, as well): “I had apple juice and chicken and beggie (veggie) sticks and…um…chocolate…TEA!”
Holding out her finger to me: “Mommy, can you please put this booger away?”
When he realized the sun was already up: “Hey, Mommy? Are we awake now? It’s awake out there!”
Things like this make my heart smile. I’ve always been absolutely amazed by the process of language acquisition, but have been even more so over these past few years, while watching as my children learn.
Right from the start, we got them going with the baby signs version of American Sign Language – which was a HUGE help, and a major blessing during that first year and a half. (You know what they say about how teaching babies and toddlers to sign can totally decrease the instances of tantrums and toddler crankiness?… It’s ALL true!! And I’d gladly get up on a soapbox about it.)
To the English and ASL, I’ve also gradually added some bits of French here and there. That’s pretty fun, in and of itself…though, oddly enough, I most often find myself speaking in French to the kids when I’m calling them or reprimanding them or that kind of thing. Go figure. I’m really hoping to modify that, asap, as I would much rather they associate French with the lovely songs we sing or the poems and stories we read together…and not my hurried, “Non! Faites attention!! Venez ici!” or the frequent, mealtime “A table! Maintenant!” or, as we rush along while running errands, the occasional, and rather frantic “On y va! Vitement!”…
My goodness. I’d like for my use of foreign language to be a bit less stressful for them, on the whole, than all that! (And I think, on that note, that I really need to brush up on my fluency in regards to the more positive and joyful expressions en français.) 😉
And, of course, given my love of doing all the voices for characters in the stories we read together, my son and daughter have had lots of exposure to different accents in the English language – or at least rather hyperbolic versions of them. 😉 I’ve figured that exposing them to many variations of their native tongue can only help develop their ear for accent, dialect, and inflection, etc. And I like that. It offers a bit wider scope for play and inspiration that can be found in the spoken word…and wonderful room for more and more depth and meaning.
I hope my children continue to find fascination in language – English and otherwise! – as they continue to grow and learn. It’s a gift I most definitely wish to impart to them.
