Dugon, Haus You Dinikin, Du-Ah, secrets of twin speak

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the phenomenon of twins creating their own languages, often referred to as "twin speak" or "cryptophasia." Participants share personal anecdotes and observations regarding the development of these private languages among twins, as well as the implications for language development and communication. The conversation touches on both the cultural fascination with twin languages and the scientific perspectives on their impact on children's speech development.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants recount personal experiences with twins who developed unique languages, noting that these languages often consist of words that only the twins understand.
  • One participant mentions that their daughter created most of the words while her twin brother mimicked her, highlighting a dynamic of language creation and usage.
  • Another participant reflects on their attempts to invent languages, comparing them to Native American languages, which contrasts with the simplicity often found in twin languages.
  • There is mention of the term "twinese" used by members of the Mothers of Twins clubs to describe the language developed by twins.
  • Some participants express curiosity about the long-term effects of twin languages on speech development in adulthood, questioning whether it has negative impacts.
  • One participant shares that their twins are now in different colleges and plans to compare their language use, indicating variability in language development among twins.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants share various personal anecdotes and observations, but there is no consensus on the implications of twin languages for speech development or whether they hinder or help communication skills.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the long-term effects of twin languages on adult speech, and there are differing views on the complexity and structure of twin languages compared to other language forms.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to parents of twins, educators, linguists, and those curious about language development and the unique communication styles of twins.

rhody
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http://www.slate.com/id/2302057/"
When I was 6, my 2-year-old brother started speaking, but in a language of his own devising. I was eager to enlist him in games (my favorite: "Slave") and so quickly mastered his lexicon. My parents never managed to, despite their advanced degrees, and so our dinner table came to resemble a Camp David summit—two sides forced to use a translator to argue for their conflicting philosophies of life. "Eat peas!" "Throw peas!" "Feet on the floor!" "Feet in the tuna casserole!"

Siblings, and especially twins, have been inventing private languages since time immemorial, to little fanfare, but recently such ingenuity has captured the public's imagination. This spring, a YouTube video of jabbering twins went viral, and even made it into the New York Times' Well blog. The Washington Post recently celebrated a new play that revolves around a similar pair of girls and their "secret twin-speak." Scientists, meanwhile, have spent the last few decades quietly building up a body of research into what they call "cryptophasia" or "twin language," and they are of two minds about it. They find it fascinating, as a window onto the origins of human language, but they also worry that it hampers children's development.

For all PF twins or members who have twins in their families, I am interested in what stories you have relating to this article, and second, if you are close to twins who developed partial or complete lanaguage, did it negatively affect their speech as adults.

Finally, in the words of the great Pengwuino, DISCUSS !

Rhody...
 
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I've tried inventing my own languages, and they almost always wind up looking like Native American languages, which are, in turn, just about the opposite of twin languages. (The verbs are not only highly conjugated, but are, in fact, the base form of all nouns and verbs, with the meaning of the base form of the verb being stative (e.g., the verb "eat" more nearly means "being in the condition of eating"). Besides this, Native American languages also have lots of directional particles, noun-class particles (such that a proper noun such as "Annie" might be rendered as "Woman Annie", and other such, which makes these languages very complicated to learn, but allows for great precision in expression.
 
There must be at least one set of twins on PF or a member who knows of a set of twins who did this.

Rhody... shamelessly bumps his own thread, the nerve !
 
rhody said:
There must be at least one set of twins on PF or a member who knows of a set of twins who did this.

Rhody... shamelessly bumps his own thread, the nerve !

Our oldest are twins - boy/girl - and my wife is very active in the Mother of Twins clubs. Accordingly, we make the annual trip to Twinsburg, OH for the twins festival.

I've gotten to know a few elderly sets of twins - they're the ones with the evolved secret languages.

Ours had words that only made sense to them. Our daughter made up most of the words and he mimicked (mostly). She also did most of the talking and typically said "we" - rather than "I" or "me".

As much as they claim to be different - they tend to do a lot of things the same (they don't realize it).
 
WhoWee said:
Our oldest are twins - boy/girl - and my wife is very active in the Mother of Twins clubs. Accordingly, we make the annual trip to Twinsburg, OH for the twins festival.

I've gotten to know a few elderly sets of twins - they're the ones with the evolved secret languages.

Ours had words that only made sense to them. Our daughter made up most of the words and he mimicked (mostly). She also did most of the talking and typically said "we" - rather than "I" or "me".

As much as they claim to be different - they tend to do a lot of things the same (they don't realize it).

WhoWee,

That is cool. The next time you are together, maybe you could post a sentence of two of their conversations, and a translation for us mere mortals.

Rhody...
 
The Mothers of Twins members call it "twinese".

http://www.whattoexpect.com/blogs/twinsamothersjoyandinsanitydoubled/language-development-in-toddlerstwinese
http://multiples.about.com/od/twintoddlers/a/twintalk.htm

Our twins are apart for the first time - different colleges. I'll ask them separately for a few words - to see if there's a difference. My wife and I compared notes and (let's just say) our data didn't coincide.
 
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