Amy is speaking different languages!

[pne]

Stella pointed out to me today that Amy appears to have begun to use the appropriate language when talking to each parent, at least in a small way:

When she wants her nappy changed, she'll say ['vivi] to Stella but ['nini] to me. (And as an aside, having her being able to express this need is useful in and of itself; means less guessing what she wants or constantly asking whether she needs a new nappy.)

['vivi] sounds as if it's the first few sounds of the German word, Windel, reduplicated (a bit like how I used to call myself ['fifi] as a small child, from Philip). I'm not sure where ['nini] is from; the consonant is most likely from "nappy" (or possibly from "new", from the common phrase, "Do you need a new nappy?"), but the vowels don't match that well. Perhaps they're from ['vivi].

Still: we have established communication!

Comments

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

Nope, you've got a gamer on your hands. This is Vivi:



*grin*

[brad.livejournal.com]

neat!

[tungol.livejournal.com]

This may be a long shot, but could it be that the [i] of [nini] is from the final vowel of "nappy"?
~~~
One of the PhD students (Ian Wilson) at the University of British Columbia when I was an undergrad, whose wife was a Japanese speaker, had a video of his daughter at a rather young age (unfortunately I forget how old) distinguishing between "what mommy calls" something and "what daddy calls" it.

[ubykhlives.livejournal.com]

When d'Armond Speers' son rejected his attempts to raise him as a native speaker of Klingon, it was with the request that his father speak "the way mommy does".

[pne.livejournal.com]

could it be that the [i] of [nini] is from the final vowel of "nappy"?

Ah! Could well be.

distinguishing between "what mommy calls" something and "what daddy calls" it.

I had heard of this kind of thing, too.