Almanac Life: Kids and the language instinct

 

 

Kids are still going pretty well. Mixing up the days. Inside time. Yard time. Lunch in the beaut sunshine. Still lots of chatting.  Lots of doing. Lots of being.

 

This was a conversation that made me laugh and says something of how young’uns understand language:

 

Me: What does corona mean?
Evie: Daaa-aad. It’s a virus.
Me: Yes. But what does the word mean, the actual word corona?
Evie: Nnnnn-er-nnn (kidspeak for ‘I don’t know’- it’s like ‘versing’)
Me: Well what word can you hear in it?
Anna: Coro.
Me (hand gesture inviting them to expand coro, like it’s charades)
Anna: Coronation
Me: Yes. Yes. So what’s the verb from coronation.
Evie: What?
Me: The action word.
Evie: Nnnn-er-nn.
Me: What’s a coronation?
Evie: It’s when princesses are princessed.
Me: (Laughing)
Theo: (who has had one ear on the conversation): No, Evie, it’s when princesses are queened.
Me: So what do you reckon a corona might be? What does a queen wear?
Evie: A crown.
Theo: It’s actually the outer part of the sun.