Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The Dictionary for Sleeping Beauty Language Learners (SBLLs)

(Prince Charming first posted this on our private, family blog. It's pretty cute, so I thought I'd share it with the rest of the interweb.)

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Sleeping Beauty (who is now 15 months old) has picked up a few words lately. For all you SBLLs out there, here is an update on what she's saying and what it means.

  1. "Dat" - a utility word generally thought of as the equivalent to the English "That." Sometimes finger pointing is an added feature of this word.
  2. "Dat-dat" - The imperative of "dat." Usually accompanied with finger pointing and, in dire moments, squealing and an adorable full body bob.
  3. "Dan-doo" - "Thank-you." Sometimes said prior to receiving anything and in such cases it is used as a means to request an item you possess.
  4. "Mmmm-Mmmm-Mmmm" - "The particular item in my mouth is quite delicious and if there is more, I'd like some."
  5. "Hut" - Current observations on this newer word lead one to believe that this term is intended to ask "what?" However, what a 15 month old is doing asking "What?" is beyond the research team.
  6. "Shhhh" - Said with pointer finger tilted diagonally along the lips, sometimes with finger up one nostril. "Please be quiet. This is quite important to me and your constant chatter is impairing my enjoyment of the other, more harmonious, sounds in our environment."
  7. "UH-uh" - "Oh no! I've dropped/broken something," or, "Something unacceptable has occurred and needs to be remedied."
  8. "Kchh" - "A non-human creature has come into my field of vision." As of late, this word is being refined to referring to cats, but has been used to point out dogs and birds as well.
  9. "Da-Da" - While the father of this child would take great pride in thinking that this word is a reference to him, the latest research points to this term as a means to call to family members, mainly Mom, Dad, and/or Cinderella.

1 comment:

  1. This is so cute--particularly the explanation of 'dat-dat'--it is a phrase often used around this household, so it is nice to have the formal meaning revealed...

    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete

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