I think there is something to love about the way that kids mispronounce things. My mom still talks about a few of our words from when we were little (I apparently couldn't quite get a handle on the word fish, calling it pish instead) and I remember when my nephew called me Trissy instead of Krissy, so I know that these sweet little mispronounciations will stay with us for a long time.
In particular with Stephanie, though, I have become slightly obsessed with the sounds that she makes with S plus a consonant. When she first started speaking clearly enough that most people understood her, there were still a few words we didn't understand. We finally figured out to add an s sound to the front of what she was saying, and voila, we could get 9 out of 10 correct. "Sp" just loses the s sound and speech sounds like peach. But when you listen carefully, it is often more than just leaving off the s sound, s plus consonant often make an entirely different sound in her hands. "Sm" makes a p sound, so smart, small and smoke are part, pall and poke. "Sl" keeps the s, but adds a w, so slip and slight are swip and swight. "Sn" is a t sound, so snore is tore. Typically, "st" just drops the s sound, so start is tart, except in her own name. As if she doesn't want to lose the s sound but can't get "st" to come out right, she will very clearly tell you her name is Tessanie, and no one ever can figure out her name when she tells them. It makes me want to nickname her Tess, but I don't want her to think I am mocking her, because I am not. It is just that being with Tessanie is an adventure... Because doesn't it sound exciting and dangerous to take the eligator to the number three floor? The only chance to do that is to take it with our girl Tessanie.
No comments:
Post a Comment