New Patch Column Up

[gnomi]

Actually, it went up Friday, but I was AFK for most of yesterday and the weekend.

Charlie and Children on the MBTA: Taking your kids on the T.

And it includes a photo of Muffin and Squeaker riding the T, too!

Comments

[doeeyedbunny.livejournal.com]

The girls are sooooooo cute!

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

Awwww! Muffin and Squeaker are so adorable.

[aunt-becca.livejournal.com]

que es AFK?

[violetcheetah.livejournal.com]

Away From Keyboard, used to describe that agonizing period of time when one is busy doing real-world things and has to deny him- or herself the joys of surfing.

[half-double.livejournal.com]

Hey! Wanted to say that I love the newer new column (language acquisition).

About a year ago, my parents gifted me with an amazing CD. Until I was 4, they had a tape recorder recording many of my formative linguistic milestones. Listening to it offers fascinating insight into how I got to be me.

I also had challenges with animal noises. "Kitty" and "doggie" were no problem, but as a suburban kid without a lot of urban exposure, all farm animals said "neigh". Or maybe (if my maniacal giggling is anything to go by) I may have done that for the frustrated reaction it provoked in my father.

I remember, from when I was a trifle older, that Mom insisted on using exact and polysyllabic words with me, a practice which sometimes attracted the scorn of other parents. One incident involved a mother who instructed her son to "smell the pretty flower" at the same time Mom pointed out the "fragrant carnation" to me. The other mother scoffed: "She doesn't know what those words mean!" To which Mom calmly replied, "Of course she doesn't, if no one ever says them to her."

As with most things, linguistic ability is a combination of inherent capacity (which in your kids must be stratospheric) and environmental opportunity. Good on you and mabfan for creating such an encouraging environment for Muffin and Squeaker to play with language!