Tuesday, July 24, 2007


"So what's the name of your blog?" one of the women at the table asked me.

"Play Wit Me Nana" I told her.

She leaned forward, tilted her ear in my direction and squinted. "Did you say wit or with?"

Just then, the white haired lady sitting between us chimed in. "Wit, she said wit, the way a little kid would say it. Like play wit me Gramy"

It was good to hear this granny defend me and relate to what I had heard in my ears when Kenz was still learning to make complete sounds.
The TH sound is not easy. Say 'with' and see how much more work your tongue and jaw have to do.

Kenz also used to say Farkles instead of Sparkles and Shewel instead of School. I loved the sound of Farkles.

Wit is also a real word. Below are some definition from Wikepedia, the free encyclopedia.

In his dictionary, Samuel Johnson states that the original meaning of wit is "the powers of the mind; the mental faculties; the intellects"; he also defines wit as "quickness of fancy", among the nine definitions. In Webster's Dictionary, wit is defined as "the association of ideas in a manner natural, but unusual and striking, so as to produce surprise joined with pleasure".

Webster and his wife may have been day caring their grandchildren. His definition sums up what a grandparent often discovers when playing with a child. Their ideas and conversation are--- unusual and striking.
I am pleasantly surprised with what Kenz says and does when we are talking or playing. It brings a smile to my face, and a lot of times--- a laugh out loud.

She is really wit it! And I'm sure your children and grandchildren are, too!

1 comment:

Tantalus Prime said...

My daughter lets me know when she wants to "play in frinkler (sprinkler)". You are right, this pattern is part of normal language development. And has the added bonus of being extra cute!

As an aside, the 'th' sound is difficult for many non-English speakers to master as well. Even outside of North American English, it is not fully pronounced. I have seen many british films were they talk about 'King Arfur' and his knights of the round table.

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