Little Linguist (Pt. 2)

A few posts earlier I touted Thevy's language abilities. There are more examples I didn't include that I want to mention.

I find it quite humorous the way she references my parents. "Grandma" and "Grandpa" sound more like "Gooma" and "Poobah". lol. How cute is that?

She also has a grasp of the possessive. She'll pick up an article, like my shoe, and go "Mommy shoe." Or she'll pick up her father's pants and say "Daddy pants." The one possessive I don't like her using is exclaiming "Mine!" I'm not sure who she learned it from. If I ever use that word, it's just a declaration and nothing more. If Dad uses it, he's intentionally being annoying about it. But I'm also wondering if she maybe got it from other kids, even though she's not around them that often. I would hate for her to pick up bad habits (I don't want her to be rude, ya know?) from other children. And that's one reason why I wouldn't want her in day care! But anyway...

She has a basic grasp of pronouns, but her comprehension still needs improvement. Often times when she's struggling to do something I ask, "Do you want me to help you?" So sometimes when she wants help she says, "Help you?", but she means "Help me." Same thing happens when she wants me to hold her, she says, "Hold you?"

I also love the way she calls us by name when speaking to us. "Yes, Mom." "No, Dad." And she doesn't just call us "Mom" and "Dad." She uses interchangeably Mom, Mama, and Mommy, and Dad, Papa, and Daddy. Isn't that great? I think the way she understands synonyms or other languages is proof of the capacity of the young mind.

I've heard it said that children are sponges, that they absorb all sorts of information. And it's true! I am always amazed when Thevy names something that I don't recall ever had teaching her or something she learned from television. Once I began showing her my Wild Life Treasury cards (any one remember those?) for the first time. As I got to a certain picture, she instantly calls out "alligator" and I was like, what? How do you know that? I think she may have learned it from another one of her books of animals. But still, I was impressed. :)

Lately she's been making a creation with her MegaBlocks. It's got these "spires". (I think that's what they're called; had to Google it. These sort of pointy roofs of a castle). Anyway, she'll put it together in such a way and approach me, talkin' about "Happy Birthday". Basically, the "spires" do resemble candles. And Thevy will pretend to blow them out. I was just tickled by the breadth of her imagination already. I think she learned the birthday motif from TV.

Anyway, with her ability at this stage, I hope it will lead to a very precocious child. I'm hoping she'll read early. And once she learns to read, I hope to eliminate the use of the television as a babysitter. :)