The acquisition of language is one of the great miracles of life. Building up to a working vocabulary of tens of thousands of words over a lifetime, the early stages are great fun to observe. Here are some of Lara and Rhea’s favourites – 10 words you can’t live without.
1. More Like little sparrows, you know when they liked something – whether it’s food, breastmilk or a swing at the playground.
2. Me/mine This one came pretty early and is used pretty often. So much for sharing and caring: it’s always about me.
3. Nuh As in:
– ‘Could you give that to your sister please?’
– ‘Can I change your nappy?’
More recently this has evolved into an equally definite ‘no’ with a very round ‘o.’
4. Mum/Dad Yes these probably were the girls’ first words, though the exact point when meaning was attached is unclear. Also recently expanded to ‘Muuuuum! Daaaaaad!’
Used as required, e.g.
– ‘Who would you like to brush your teeth?’ (when we are both putting them to bed)
Lara: ‘Mum.’
Rhea: ‘Mum.’
– Who would you like to stay with you while you go to sleep?’ (when Dad has to go and get the dinner)
Lara: ‘Dad.’
Rhea: ‘Dad.’
5. Ee-ah They can both say it, and it means ‘Rhea.’ Lara has also got ‘Eve’ for ‘Steve’, copying me when I’m calling him, but they aren’t quite on top of ‘Lara.’ I’ve been helping out by suggesting ways they can get their tongues around Lara’s name but so far without success. I suspect that I was around five when I learnt how to say my own name.
6. Up Still approximates for ‘I’ve had enough thanks, could you take me off/out of this chair/pram/car seat/table/tree house/ladder?’
Also means ‘get up! Why do you always lie in bed so long, come and play with us!’
7. Ip You might be surprised what an essential word ‘ip’ is. It refers to hair clips and clips on highchair or pram straps, all of which are a source of great interest and industrious activity. A similar principle of consonant omission applies to many other words e.g. ‘urt, ‘oon (moon or spoon), ‘at (hat), ‘is (this). ‘Ip’ is not to be confused with ‘id’ (lid) or ‘in (chin).
8. Beez Lara has learnt some of her manners without prompting – though she hasn’t progressed to ‘thank you’ yet. Rhea still uses a less eloquent ‘ee ee ee’ and pointing, in its way equally effective.
9. Baya baya (Lara)/ Aya (Rhea) This means ‘baby’: real, picture or doll. As Marion Halligan wrote in one of her columns recently regarding her three-year old granddaughter ,’ I wonder if she should be enjoying her youth instead of being burdened with a baby.’ Our girls also care for and dote on their babies, and are fascinated by real babies and their representations.
10. Um. . . Lara, on being asked something she doesn’t know the answer to. She’s definitely an English speaker.
Even our paediatrician referred to twins often having their own language to communicate between themselves. Do Lara and Rhea have their own secret language?
They still babble a lot, and, as when they play, they often copy each other’s babble just as they seem to have learnt most of the same words (though at different rates). Whether you’d call that their own language is a matter of interpretation.
I think they milk the words they know to communicate quite well. Our bayas Ee-ah and her sister are learning more and more.
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