Penelope is very polite. If she is asking for something, she'll almost always use her version of "please" (which sounds a lot like "peas"). If you give her what she asked for, you'll get a "tankoo." If someone sneezes she says "beshoo!" If she does something that isn't very ladylike, she'll say "eshoome." Well... that last one isn't entirely true. The only indications that she's loading her diaper are a slight squat, then a vacant stare and a tiny grunt. But in general, gases from either end are acknowledged according to the rules of etiquette.
I am told that yesterday she sneezed, and Mommy said "bless you." Penelope responded with "tankoo." Then there was a pause, and she said "Tankoo" again. Another pause, and then she said it again. She kept repeating it, and getting more insistent each time. "Tank Ooo!" "TANKOOO!". Finally, Mommy said, "You're welcome."
Penelope nodded and then went about her business.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Language
One of the things that I find most fascinating and entertaining about watching my kids grow is seeing them develop their language skills. Don't get me wrong - there's plenty of fun to be had in watching them start to roll over or crawl or walk. But for me personally, the language is up near the top of the list (when they become teenagers, I suspect I'll have the opposite opinion of their language.)
What do I find so fascinating and entertaining? It is hard to say (pun not intended, but appreciated). It changes from one day to the next as they grow.
Penelope is at that wonderful age where she has a very large vocabulary and loves to talk. She understands most of what we say, but only a few people here on Earth can actually understand even half the things that she says. Neither of my kids took to the sign language thing very well, so communication with her at this stage can sometimes be a challenge. Some of her words are very clear to anyone who speaks English - "No", "Yes", "Mommy", and "Daddy" being at the top of that list. But there's a longer list of words that you need some kind of translation dictionary to comprehend. When Ben was this age, I made a Ben-to-English dictionary for the visiting grandparents so they'd have a fighting chance. Unfortunately, it was only useful for Ben translations, and has little bearing on the language of Penelope. Milk for example, was radically different. To Ben, it was "guk", and Penelope prefers "mao".
If you spend enough time with her, you can learn to understand the common requests, but still sometimes have to guess at what she's saying until you get an "mmm-hmmm" or, if it takes a while, an exasperated "Yes!". Until you hear it several times, it is difficult to know that "meeno" is "flamingo", and "aminah" means "open up". And just to mix things up a bit, she'll throw in a homonym every once in a while. "Eyes" could be exactly what it sounds like, "eyes". Or, it could mean an entirely new word - "sunglasses". There's certainly some logic behind that one.
Even with the communication issues, I love listening to her talk. My favorite word is currently "ooouge" (rhymes with rouge). That's her word for "orange". With Ben, my favorites were "beige" (maybe I just like the way they say that "zh" sound), and "yebun", which meant "seven".
Of course, Ben no longer says "yebun" - he's old enough to communicate more clearly now. The language development is really no less fascinating though, just for different reasons. Most of the time, I simply enjoy the little glimpses into how his brain works. At other times, talking with him makes me realize how odd some parts of language are. It has led to a few interesting Google searches on linguistics and etymology. Ordinal numbers are the latest little language quirk that he got me wondering about, just by using the word "seventy-oneth". How do you get first from one and second from two? And while we're on numbers in general, what is up with eleven and twelve?
What do I find so fascinating and entertaining? It is hard to say (pun not intended, but appreciated). It changes from one day to the next as they grow.
Penelope is at that wonderful age where she has a very large vocabulary and loves to talk. She understands most of what we say, but only a few people here on Earth can actually understand even half the things that she says. Neither of my kids took to the sign language thing very well, so communication with her at this stage can sometimes be a challenge. Some of her words are very clear to anyone who speaks English - "No", "Yes", "Mommy", and "Daddy" being at the top of that list. But there's a longer list of words that you need some kind of translation dictionary to comprehend. When Ben was this age, I made a Ben-to-English dictionary for the visiting grandparents so they'd have a fighting chance. Unfortunately, it was only useful for Ben translations, and has little bearing on the language of Penelope. Milk for example, was radically different. To Ben, it was "guk", and Penelope prefers "mao".
If you spend enough time with her, you can learn to understand the common requests, but still sometimes have to guess at what she's saying until you get an "mmm-hmmm" or, if it takes a while, an exasperated "Yes!". Until you hear it several times, it is difficult to know that "meeno" is "flamingo", and "aminah" means "open up". And just to mix things up a bit, she'll throw in a homonym every once in a while. "Eyes" could be exactly what it sounds like, "eyes". Or, it could mean an entirely new word - "sunglasses". There's certainly some logic behind that one.
Even with the communication issues, I love listening to her talk. My favorite word is currently "ooouge" (rhymes with rouge). That's her word for "orange". With Ben, my favorites were "beige" (maybe I just like the way they say that "zh" sound), and "yebun", which meant "seven".
Of course, Ben no longer says "yebun" - he's old enough to communicate more clearly now. The language development is really no less fascinating though, just for different reasons. Most of the time, I simply enjoy the little glimpses into how his brain works. At other times, talking with him makes me realize how odd some parts of language are. It has led to a few interesting Google searches on linguistics and etymology. Ordinal numbers are the latest little language quirk that he got me wondering about, just by using the word "seventy-oneth". How do you get first from one and second from two? And while we're on numbers in general, what is up with eleven and twelve?
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