Ava-ese

A new language has sprouted up in our small Indiana home. This endemic tongue is created on-the-fly by the one and only Ava. She is becoming quite the prolific speaker. We don't have a clue what she's saying, but it's clear that she understands it. Each syllable is articulated with regards to inflection and tone. Sometimes she even throws in a little accent to throw us off. Ask anyone in our D-team (church small group) and they'll tell you that she adds a southern twang on occasion.

The baby bouncer has found new life and purpose in its rediscovery by our little chatter-box. Ava grabs her favorite Cabbage Patch doll and climbs into the bouncer. Instead of comfortably laying in it, she holds the African-American baby while sitting hunched over so she doesn't fall back. As she starts bobbing her head and bouncing she begins to chant, "diga-diga-diga-diga-diga-diga-diga....," with no end in sight. The speed at which she can make her tongue see-saw to make this sound is amazing. I can say it at her speed for several seconds, but I soon get tongue fatigue and begin to slow. Baby girl has endurance. She carries on like this as long as she likes without showing a hint of slowing down. Occasionally she'll interrupt her steady pace with an always pleasing screech and squeal of joy.

She doesn't seem to want to speak a lot of what we would understand, but its clear that she understands us. It's almost as if she just discovered her tongue and is on a personal mission to make every possible sound with it. I'm confident that her having a solid understanding of the basics will cause her to linguistically explode when she does decide to speak discernible English.