I found today’s topic very interesting. Having worked as an interpreter for some time, I have many anecdotes I would like to share with you. However, as you can imagine, this year I have learn that there are more languages than we think.
Now my biggest challenge is the baby language. One day Ritsuko told me she had read an article that pointed that babies talked in sign language before using words. Since that day, I started to pay attention to Yuka’s cry and different sounds and movements. I realized that babies don’t cry just because they want to disturb us, but because of some reason.
For example, one of the things I was concerned about at the beginning was why she slept so little after I had tried so long to make her fall asleep. Now I know that if she wakes up a few minutes after she fell asleep and starts moving her legs, it means she wants to go to the toilet. After that she will go to sleep again for at least another half an hour. I also understand now that she likes watching peoples movements (specially people walking), so it is difficult for her to fall asleep if everybody else is awake.
I also think that even if we don’t understand the words, some times we can understand the intention. The first time my mother in law looked after Yuka while I was teaching a class, she cried for a long time, and when I picked her up she would look at me as if she was angry.
I felt terrible, but I didn’t give up. Next time I talked to her before my mother in law came to pick her up. I told her I would go as soon as I finished my class. This time, she didn’t cry much but she wasn’t very happy either. When we arrived home I hugged her and told her she had been a very nice girl, and that every week she would go to her grand mother’s house to take a bath and play a little, and then I would pick her up.
I don’t know if she understood my words, but I believe she understood the intention because after that day she hasn’t cried when she goes there. She looks happy to go and even when we get back home she doesn’t look upset.
Of course, as she grows and moves more, language becomes more complicated, but with patience I think we will understand each other some day.
Fantastiqueeerr 