The latest post here, We Go Forth to Wonder, produced a lively discussion among viewers about language, its purposes, uses, limitations —
Informative and provocative as it was, though, no discussion (to my mind) is complete without a demonstration of real communication between real people. And here is one such at its very finest. There’s eloquence, passion, good humor, tolerance — These two guys put our current crop of politicians to shame. Sit yourself down, settle in and enjoy conversation at its finest on this Youtube video (ignore the ads, and if you’ve seen it before, you’ll still get a kick out of seeing it again):
Frankly, I’d vote for BOTH these debaters —-
I found this very interesting. I am a twin, and Mom tells me that my brother and I had our own language when we were tiny tykes. We didn’t start speaking English until we were around 4-years-old. In fact, Mom and Dad were so worried about us they took us in for evaluation. I don’t remember any of it, but that’s what I’m told. Watching the two toddlers was delightful. 🙂
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That is a really interesting personal story, Cecilia. I envy you; I always wanted to be a twin, for many reasons — but the idea of a particular language to twins never even entered my mind. And that it was so satisfying that you didn’t need to relinquish it until you were four! — it’s amazing to me.
Thanks for sharing this.
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My younger sisters are identical twins and they still finish each other’s thoughts just as they did when they were small. They often speak the same thing at the same time with exactly the same inflection – it’s like listening to them in stereo!
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Wow! Did you see Cecilia Futch’s comment? Same thing — only she and her twin had a total language.
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WoW! Thats awesome 😀
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Thanks so much for the comment and visit!
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I’d seen this before and you’re right – I did get to laugh all over again at these two. I happened upon a YouTube recording of a TED Talk about language called The Birth of a Word featuring MIT researcher Deb Roy. It’s a fascinating study on how children acquire language. Here’s one link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE4ce4mexrU
What fascinating creatures we are and what marvelous things we can learn with our newer technologies! Misanthropy temporarily suspended 😉
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Sources of wonder indeed! Frank, over my shoulder, watching the TED talk of Deb Roy: We’re watching a true miracle here, the development of language.
Thanks for the link, Pauline!
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Well, what can one say after that video? (Seen it before but still.) 🙂
Reminds me of a poem I wrote: http://aboutzen.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/poem-blah-blah-blah/
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Are you a twin baby, John? Or are you simply highly evolved?
I recommend John’s poem to everyone who enjoyed the youtube video —
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Not a twin. Highly evolved? I’ll let people who’ve read my poem decide. 😛
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My grandson, Peanut, turned two years old in July of 2011. Peanut isn’t talking in long sentences yet, but he says a few words here and there. In any case, the pediatrician recommended that Peanut see a speech therapist.
So, the speech therapist has been coming to our house and working with Peanut, once a week, for about a month now. The speech therapist can get Peanut to talk, whereas I can’t (I’m his pushover grandma who can’t make him do anything).
When I was a child, growing up in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, it was often said that children should be seen and not heard. Thank goodness that way of thinking is changing.
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Some kids never shut up — in my day (which was long before your day) they were called chatterboxes, and often reprimanded for it.
Then there are kids who don’t talk till a lot later, like Peanut. Various explanations may be offered — they’re thinkers rather than talkers, they don’t have anything to complain about (my favorite), they’re just late talkers. Unfortunately, as the pendulum swings, it’s also “explained” as something is wrong, they SHOULD BE —- whatever.
Whether it’s said that kids SHOULD be quiet, or SHOULD be talking right now — I’m a little leery. There’s not a whole lot of shoulds that apply to all kids equally, kids being so various and so different. In other words — I wouldn’t call you a pushover grandma. I’d more likely describe a loving grandma who takes her grandchild as she finds him, and what a wonderful soothing down quilt of a grandmother he must find you!
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The guy on the left is funny! And while the guy on the right wants to give in, a part of him remains unconvinced… 😉
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You think?
To me, the twin on the left is bigger, and takes the lead —
The right-hand twin laughs in response a lot — as the smaller, he’s accomodating, maybe.
But you certainly could be right. You remind me of a jingle first heard way back in school when dealing with rhetoric:
A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.
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We have a set of twins in our family. They are now adults, but I remember witnessing similar conversations when we were kids (although never as long). The clip also reminds me of the strange, but true story of twins, June and Jennifer Gibbons. I read a book about them called The Silent Twins and now there is an opera about their relationship and the behavior that led them to being committed to Broadmoor Hospital.
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Seems like from yours and others’ comments that the special twin relationship certainly does extend into language. So neat!
What a dark hint about the Gibbons twins, though. I’m going to Google them (amazon them?) and see what that’s all about!
Thank you for the visit, Tree, and happy Christmas with all the trimmings to you and yours — 🙂
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I Enjoy it again for a couple of minutes Great video 🙂
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Makes you smile, doesn’t it? Cheers me up in any kind of mood!
😀
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Wonderful video! put a smile on my face 🙂 Just love it!!
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There are some others of the guys in action, but that’s the first one I saw, and I love it.
Cheers to you!
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