Kidspeak

By Lucy Maloney and Meghan Yamamoto

Sample Dialogue:

Katherine
Wu nainira; fei ba sulu yono ha oo. Yo ba fei tu yono mer ha gaopa.

Owen
Yo shak, nairempa. Yo ba fei ha zum.

Katherine
Wu ba yono moda ha konu!

 

Kidspeak

I like this new word I keep hearing today: birthday. Mommy and daddy are saying it over and over with big, goofy smiles on their faces, showing all their teeth. I start to feel fadakai[1] and smile and clap how they taught me to.  I like how they look at me when they say it, it makes me feel so special and I don’t know why.

Then, mommy is holding me. I don’t know what’s happening now; there are a lot of people in the house.  New faces are grinning at me, touching my cheeks and feet. And they all say the same words: “Happy Birthday Katherine!” Oh, they are here because of me, because of this word. Am I a ‘birthday’??  Then, all the people crowd around me. The room is suddenly dark and their faces disappear. I look up to mommy and I can barely see her.  I can’t help but shabu[2]. Then, my attention shifts to two small, yellow lights floating toward me and suddenly people start singing. I completely jatimi[3].  I recognize those words again: happy and birthday, and toward the end they say my name in a long and drawn out way. The two little lights disappear and it becomes bright again. I see everyone happy and smiling and I’m not scared anymore. I am fadakai1 again.

I am siting, playing with my toys on the carpet. I see mommy’s feet next to me. She is talking to some shoes I don’t recognize.  I scan my surroundings and even when I reigara[4], I can’t see any faces. Among all the bodies, a face pops out of a leg. I walk closer to the face to get a better look and realize it has a body of its own. Is it me?? I’ve never seen someone my size before! We were at eye level. I turn to mommy to ask: “What is it, mommy?”  She tells me his name is Owen.  Oh, it is a person, a boy person like me!

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Yesterday, daddy took me to the swings. He pushed me and I went up into the air. It felt like I was flying! It felt different then ilasare[5] like when I am carried, it felt like I was on my own, above everything. I felt so ublipa[6] and I loved it.

Today, I want to go on the swings again. I go up to daddy and tug his shirt. But, just as I was about to speak, I forget what they are called. I borbari[7] and no matter how I try, he doesn’t understand. I try to show him what I want him to do. I point at the door and pull him by the shirt towards it. He takes me outside, but he stops there. I move my arms like the swing, but he doesn’t understand.  He responds only in iyadadu[8]. I try to describe it in my own way, my own language, but he just looks more confused. He chuckles and picks me up and takes me back inside and puts me in my playpen. I wish that people understood me. My language makes so much more sense than theirs.

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I am home. Mommy and daddy just went out the door. I am sitting by my playpen in the big room with the TV. The TV is glowing and there is a dog talking like people do. That doesn’t make sense; Junie doesn’t talk.  Then, Chris comes into the room. He sits down on the couch. I don’t think Chris likes me. I try to give him my favorite bunny toy. He takes it, smiles, and sets it next to him on the couch and changes the channel. I think he likes it. I give him my blankie too. He lays it across his lap. He pulls a ball out of the couch and tosses it across the room. Junie appears out of nowhere and chases it down and brings it back in her mouth. Chris pries it out of her teeth. I wonder if Junie can talk. I ask her. She turns to me. She is as tall as me when I am sitting down. She sniffs my face; her wet nose rubs my eye and I squint. Then, she quickly turns back to Chris, her tail moving back and forth, swatting me in the face. I grab her tail and pull it; maybe its bothering her too. She squeals at me and I let go. The ball flies across the room again and she bounds after it. It looks fun; I want Chris to play with me too. I chase after the ball. Junie gets it. She is faster than me. I follow her back. Chris takes it from her mouth and throws it again, I lopen[9] after it.

Then, I tisekum[10] and Chris is gone. I become bugabpe[11]; what happened? Chris and Junie are gone.  The TV is off and the ball is under her playpen. Everything is guga[12] and I want them to come back. Then, I smell something strong but familiar. It smells like Chris and it’s coming from his room. I sneak over to his room and peak through the open door. He has a bottle in his hand and, with a “shhhh” sound, mist comes out of the bottle and he walks into the mist. That’s where the smell is coming from. Now he is touching his hair and shaking his head and moving his hair around different ways. Then, there is a ringing sound. The one that means a new person will come through the door. Chris jumps. He looks scared. He touches his hair more and looks around the room and throws clothes under the bed. He runs past me.

A girl is in the room. He talks to her. His voice sounds different, not like how he talks to me. The girl’s voice changes too. She bends her body, grins and talks to me. Her mouth looks big and she is high-pitched. But, when she turns back to Chris, her voice is soft and calm. She crosses and uncrosses her arms, now her legs. Why do they zofa[13] nonsense, but to me they zobe[14] I understand? Do they talk to me in a different language? How can I learn talk to them in their language if they do this? Then, Chris bends down and picks me up by the armpits and puts me in my playpen. I watch through the net as Chris and the girl walk into his room. The door slams shut.

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They don’t understand that I want to eat my oatmeal with the yellow spoon. That spoon is special. Mommy always uses it when she feeds me. Now she puts a cold silver spoon in my hand. I don’t like how it feels in my mouth. I tell her I don’t want it. I even throw the spoon on the ground but she just put it back in the bowl. How can I make this any clearer? Then she takes my oatmeal away and gives me a bowl with cheerios. No! I like oatmeal. I can’t help it; I am jashamun[15] now. Daddy comes in to help. He doesn’t understand either! They keep giving me new food, they ask me about my diaper, they give me juice… they shake my bunny in my face, but Bunny was sleeping and she wasn’t supposed to wake up. I am jashakonu[16] and I can’t get the right words out. They are talking loudly to each other, I don’t like it when they do that, it scares me. I ashau[17] and I can’t breathe. Daddy picks me up and puts me in my crib. No!! I’m not sleepy. I don’t want them to leave me in the room! They put Bunny under the covers with me. At least she gets to sleep now. They shut the door. I cry for them to come back, Bunny cries too, but I know they won’t this time. Only if I sleep.

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There are big, dark shadow people swarming every corner of my room. They are in all the places I can’t reach, that I’ve never explored. They have no faces, except for mean, grinning mouths and they move without legs; they are in one place and suddenly across the room as if I closed my eyes—but I didn’t—I can’t keep my eyes off of them. Mommy and daddy are with me. They say goodnight and shut the door. They left me with the monsters and they’re not coming back! I’m tunten[18], what are they going to do to me? They start to talk at me, every sound coming from those grinning teeth are iyadadu8, but they sound so mean. They move closer to me, they are so big that when I turn my head to look away, they fill up all the space and I can’t not see them. The bars of the crib don’t protect me; they trap me in a big bowl for the monsters’ dinner.   I am so frightened I can hardly breathe, I fimmigai[19].

I open my eyes. It must have been a dream. But, the room is pitch-black and it feels more real. I hopelessly shatun[20] for mommy and daddy to come back. They don’t come. They took them! My head feels dizzy and I’m fitushapa[21]. Then, I am waking up again to mommy stroking my hair. They came back after all.

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I’m going to preschool today. I think that’s a good thing because mommy and daddy seem really happy today. I don’t know what it is but they packed me a bag with a tiny pillow and a set of clothes. We went to the car and daddy opened the door for me. Oh, is this one of those long car trips? I need Bunny! The car starts moving

“No, daddy! I need Bunny!”

He tells me no and keeps driving.

“No!” I need her!”

Then, mommy says something and daddy turns the car around. Mommy runs in and brings me Bunny.  “What do you say?

“Thank you, mommy.” And I hug Bunny tight.

Mommy and daddy hold my hands as we walk into a building. The building is scary and unfamiliar. I become tunten18. When we go inside, I see a bunch of kids. They are running and playing together. It looks fun. Maybe I will like it here. Then, mommy and daddy say goodbye. “Stay!” I tell them, but they don’t. I hold onto Bunny tightly.

A lady wearing a sparkly shirt calls my name and takes my hand.  All the other kids and I go outside. That’s when I see the swings!  All the kids run off, so I let go of her hand. I race to a swing and sit on the seat. I try to make it move but it doesn’t budge. Then, the lady with the sparkly shirt comes over. She asks if I need help. I say I do. She pushes me up high in the air and I feel that free feeling again. I want to swing forever.

Then, the swinging suddenly stops. She says I need to let someone else swing too. I don’t want it to stop, I rem sindona[22]. Where is Bunny? She would know what to do. Wait, Bunny’s gone!  Across the lawn, I see Owen picking up Bunny. I jump off the swing and run toward him.

“Hey, that’s mine! Give it back!” He hides it behind his back. I reach for it, but he just backs away.  “Wu nainira; fei ba sulu yono ha oo.  Yo ba fei tu yono mer ha gaopa.”[23]  I realize I was talking in my language. He wouldn’t be able to understand it. But, before I can correct myself, he responds back.

“Yo shak, nairempa. Yo ba fei ha zum.”[24]  He gives Bunny back.

“Wu ba yono moda ha konu!”[25]  He doesn’t use iyadadu8 like everyone else, he actually understands me and I can understand him.  Curious, I ask: “Aia… Wu no gara ba iza jareigara ha itai ve.”[26]

“Sei, fav! Nadi ana ba yono sevi ha oon.”[27]

“Yo mo eso ha hise. To yo ba nadi ya nira ha naipile. Fei ba shamun ha ya obi.”[28]

“Yo ba jaborbari ha naipile.”[29]

“Wuyo ba eso masa ha chinun avan!”[30]

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Owen’s mommy and daddy took us to the beach today. Me and Owen build a sand castle with buckets. We pile pebbles in the sand around the castle. I put Bunny at the top of the tower. She is the queen of the Katowen Castle. Then, I pour sand on Owen’s lap. He doesn’t do anything so I continue to bury him in the sand. His legs are completely buried and I start to pat down the sand. Then, he suddenly gets up and runs, the sand flies everywhere. I chase after him. He lopendu[31] and I start to catch up. When I finally catch up with him, I give him a big bear hug.

“Aia, lutla!”[32]

“Nai! Wu ba sama yono ha oon!”[33]

Laughing, we look back toward the sand castle as a wave rushes over it. It pulls back into the ocean and Bunny swims along with it. All that’s left is a trail of footprints, mine entwined with his. I reach for his hand and he holds it tight.

Lexicon

[1] fadakai: when you are happy because other people are happy

[2] shabu: cry or whimper in confusion

[3] jatimi: when you stop crying because you forgot why you were crying

[4] reigara: to crane your neck to see something

[5] ilasare: how it feels to be up high but secure (in mothers arms or in a highchair)

[6] ublipa: excited in a good way from experiencing something new

[7] borbari: when you struggle to communicate and be understood; the concept is clear in your mind, but you can’t express it

[8] iyadadu: words/sounds that you don’t understand (-du is the suffix to make it plural)

[9] lopen: to run with stiff, wobbly legs and trip

[10] tisekum: when you wake up but were not aware that you had fallen asleep

[11] bugabpe: to feel afraid or confused when things have changed when you did not see it happen

[12] guga: the way things look blurry when your eyes are tearing up

[13] zofa: the way others talk among themselves

[14] zobe: the way people talk to a child

[15] jashamun: crying out of frustration

[16] jashakonu: talking while crying, talking between sobs

[17] ashau: when you lose control of your crying

[18] tunten: afraid of the unknown

[19] fimmigai: when you close your eyes because you’re so overwhelmed that you can’t think of any other way to make whatever is bothering you go away

[20] shatun: cry in fear or cry for help

[21] fitushapa: exhausted from crying so much (-pa is the suffix for past tense)

[22] rem sindona: when you know you’re supposed to do something, but your own desires are so strong that they overpower every other thought (rem = to know)

[23] You don’t understand; it really is mine. I brought it from my house.

[24] I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Here you go (literally: I return it).

[25] You speak my language.

[26] Hey… Does your neck ever hurt due to craning your neck to see things? See endnote 4.

[27] Yes, always!  No one ever is at my level.

[28] I feel that way also. And I don’t like how nobody understands me. It compels me to cry in frustration. See endnote 15.

[29] I don’t like struggling to communicate and be understood when what I mean to say is so clear in my mind but I just can’t express it correctly. See endnote 7.

[30] We will never have that problem!

[31] lopendu: runs with stiff, wobbly legs and trips. See endnote 9.

[32] Hey, release me/let go!

[33] No! You’re mine now!