The Transcendence of Words

After witnessing this process first hand through my own five children, I can tell you that this is a truly exciting time. The ability to speak (or sign, as the case may be) gives your children the opportunity to share what they are experiencing, enjoying, not enjoying, etc. with you in ways that they could not before. I think our biggest challenge as parents is that we get so bogged down with day to day responsibilities we sometimes forget to truly listen to what our children are telling us.

This is a wonderful story. TwinkleStarCrafts says it all! We need to slow down and listen to your children. Mine are grown and really try and tune into there needs. Monica

My two daughters were language sponges as babies! I spoke to them all the time - no baby talk. They could both speak in simple sentences by the time they were 15 months old. Just keep talking to your son and introducing new words and concepts with all activities and you will be blown away by each new stage in his development!

My sons are two and four and their vocabularies are growing everyday. I remember having a conversation with an older friend of mine. He was reflecting on the way he raised his daughter 70 years ago. His advice was to always answer any question, no matter how silly, and never tell the child they're talking too much. I always think of this when my sons are yacking away endlessly. I take a breath and listen to the words and ideas they're forming and try to live in the moment, as my boys are growing up so fast!

Wonderful video. Thanks. I never thought of the connection between memory and language - fascinating. As for my twins - I only remember how relieved I was when they could finally talk and tell me what they wanted or what hurt, how much and where and I could stop guessing. I'm sure their vocabulary grew in leaps and bounds when they realized mommy wasn't a good guesser.

I love your blog posts! Adorable!

I hope the power of the written word is not lost with texting/technology but enhanced. I too have a one year old who recently said 'Mamee' for the first time... and although not in perfect form it can certainly bring a tear to your eye. I have a 4 year old also & we keep an easel in the kitchen & at dinner time write down a single letter or word & try to use it in conversation throughout dinner. ~Little Wee Shop~

Such a great idea to keep in mind always. Although I'm not a parent yet, I hope to be one someday and I hope to instill the importance of the written word into future generations. Great post!

When my three started to talk, it was like seeing the world with new eyes...their imagination and ways of categorizing what was happening to them made me feel alive again in a whole new way. It still sparks my own creativity when my 7 year old says something in an odd way (which she does often). From my son naming his teddy bear "Baby" at age of 13 months to my daughter calling all insects "bees" when she was just two, they create amazing worlds of imagination that wouldn't exist without their particular view of the world. Hooray for toddlers!

I love to hear my daughter talk. Her first words were "dada" and "duck", i loved seeing her put them together for the first time. Kids get it. They learn so fast. Now she tells me amazing stories and says surprisingly grown up things like "Don't worry mommy i'll make you all better." or "Where are your happys at?" The best part about teaching them words is that you're not only teaching them words but you're teaching about life.

My son, too, is adding new words to his vocabulary at lightning speed. It's so much fun! His first sentence, a few weeks back, was "Root beer is the best!". The cutest darn thing ever! Virgil's, if you're reading this, he'd make a wonderful spokesperson. LOL! Wonderful post!

I get to spend 24 hrs a day with my son, thanks to Etsy, and he's so surprisingly funny. I did have to take the T.V. away because he would recite entire infomercials he'd heard while I slept. He can sell you a vacuum and sing Elvis Costello songs. Enjoy every second!

We can learn the simple meaning of words so quickly and so young, but sometimes it takes one's whole life to understand the subtleties of certain concepts behind those words.

My 15 month old son is just beginning to talk and I'm fascinated by the process and the new pathways connecting in his brain. When he was an infant, I often tried to imagine what it was like to be him---no language skills or even comprehension. It was so hard for me to pass even a few seconds without thoughts and words passing through my mind. The brief moments I did succeed in viewing the world without words were very close to a meditative state. It's interesting to me that once we gain language, it's really difficult to turn off that part of our brains. Never again are we able to experience life as an infant and just take it all in.

Caleb I always enjoy your posts. Before one of my children could speak dealing with frustration and tantrums filled our day. Once words were developed we saw a new child.

My 8 month old is just starting to make noises that sound like words, it is quite amazing to see. It does seem like he has gotten quite creative at expressing himself.

Hence the saying...out of the mouths of babes.

Great story.

What is most memorable is not merely the learning of language but how the mouth can create unique sounds. For example, my 15 year old daughter Zoe, then two said defiantly and proudly. "My name is NOT Zoe! It is Zo-ohee-ohee!" She was quite serious in the proclamation of her name. Now she is an amazing poet and story teller; always having a command of language since telling me at 15 months, "I can do it myself!" Cherish all these moments and take LOTS of notes. Aging does this mysterious thing to the memory as our collective Rolodexes fill up--we forget. :)

Great post - I loved that Radiolab podcast! Our daughter created a lot of her own words as she learned to speak, it was a whole different language that we had to constantly translate for grandparents or friends to understand. She's now 5 and never uses those words anymore, but makes me wonder, where did they go?

We are enjoying going through this stage with our second child, and the first words they get obsessed with (and want to say all day) perhaps give us an indication of their inner world - my first son was obsessed with fans (we live in tropical Australia) and now my second son is all about trains. It is fascinating when they start joining their words into sentences, and then progress to reading and writing - fluent language users. I can't wait to see my second son's personality expressed in words.

I had the pleasure of spending time with 5 year old Frank, whose mother's native language was Chinese and father's was English. Frank always spoke to his mother in Chinese and somehow knew to approach me, a complete stranger, in English. How did he know? Frank also took delight in showing picture books to his father and pointing to animals and deliberately telling him the incorrect word for each animal, in Chinese.

Thanks for turning the simple into the divine. You just caused me to appreciate something I really took for granted. I could not possibly imagine a life with no ability to communicate. I had never before considered the relationship between words and memories. I do believe our children communicate with us long before their ability to form words. It's the look in their eye; the innocent wide eyed gaze of something so pure. It the laugh, the recognition, the smile, the cry. It was so amazing one day I was driving down the freeway with my husband who just had mouth surgery. Our 5 month old daughter was in the back seat and strapped in. Suddenly she blurted out a complete sentence with perfect pronunciation. I cannot remember what she said but she stated clearly a complete thought. My husband and I were so amazed that we almost drove off the road. Thank you for returning a sense of wonder to something that I had mistaken as commonplace!~ I am now so much more thankful.

I'm a mother of three and made me think about them growing as my first daughter already 11 developed pretty much as the book or faster, my second son almost 6 with speech delay he was a quiet little toddler and very funny right now that finished VPK sucessfully came out of his shell like a pandora box bursting so many words in both language spanish and english, has so much thoughts that he can't express and his mouth started to fill with air and I'm being patience (used to giving him time when he got a little stock with his words) but this time he had so much air that exploded like a balloom loosing air ...that was hilarious I couldn't resisted and laughs.... I think everyone is different and is a particular cognitive process that we decided when to master and when that happens we become similar to our circle.. part of the magic is gone.. parents trying to defined our kids needs or expressions.. create a whole new world of expectations and reality... that's why I'm enjoying so much my little girl 18 months, learning from her all what she has to express and how she does it with so much wisdom, until that day when she becomes one of Us.

Our third child has been blowing us away with his increasing language and communication skills. He turned two last week. Just now my grumpy prince (husband) and I looked at each other with shocked expressions because he said 'mr. freezie'. It's been an awesome experience. He maybe speaking so well because of his older brother and sister; not sure, but his language/ comprehension level is off the charts . Best time ever....enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!

I have a 3 year old with a rare genetic syndrome called Angelman's syndrome. He will never speak, not even one word. What I have learned as he has entered the age where words would usually start to pour out, is that communication is much more than verbal language or even sign language ( he can't do that either). You learn the subtleties of the human face, eyes, and body, as he tries to tell you things without the use of words or gestures. It is very challenging, yet somehow he is able to show me and everyone he meets how happy and loving he is. People who do not know him will stop on the street to comment that he is "the happiest child they have ever met." without ever needing to hear him say it. He hugs and smiles at strangers without any regard for difference or inequality. He teaches me a little bit each day about communication and love without prejudice. Once he even smiled and waved at a homeless man who stopped to pee directly in front of us on the street and flashed his privates at us. There is a dark side though, as being unable to speak or communicate a certain specific thing sometimes results in him becoming very violent and unhappy, he even has to wear a helmet to keep him safe. I think he would give anything to have the gift of words regardless of how much he's taught me about communication without them.

definitely an adorable post we all do contemplate the meanings of words - even as i m writing now!!

I am fascinating how today my 5 years old ask me about the meaning of words and we both look in the dictionary , just as I am fascinated how my 2 years old understand both languajes I speak to her... seeing human life blooming is priceless.

what a great article. I was facinated when my three kids were learning to talk. It seemed almost miraculous. This was a great thing to write about. You can tell it ment a lot to all of us because of the long and heartfelt posts everyone left. Thank yoU!

Language is so extremely interesting and how humans and animals create language is miraculous. It seems to be an inborn mechanism for us to communicate in so many ways.

Such a great thing to think about! This time seams so slow, yet moves so quickly.... My daughter Eve, now three and a half has always been a fantastic communicator. It was like her brain loved learning and categorizing - she began speaking early and quickly put words together - he first sentence was "Ma Cock", translation: "more cookies". I was particularly interested in how she learned through music - at 15 months she would request the band the Weakerthans ('We-ka-ans') by name. She began asking for, rather belligerently I'll add, a song she called "Crooked Eyes" - "Mama! Pay crooked eyes peas. Crooked eyes PEAS!". I had to listed to the entire record with a fine tooth comb to find the one line in one song where the singer says "across the creaking ice.." But to her it was 'crooked eyes'. She still loves music and can memorize the words to an entire song if she hears it twice. My son is almost 14 months and just uttered his first non-parent-name word. And it was....drumroll.... 'squirrel'. But is sounds like he is saying "Quirr". If it weren't for the near obsessive pointing at one of the many squirrels he sees I would never had known he was trying to talk to me. Enjoy this time with your son, and try and write down everything that makes you wonder or makes you laugh! xoxo

My daughter was using complete sentences by 1 and my son is still nonverbal at 6 yrs and uses augmentative communication. There is definitely nothing to be taken for granted in being able to get your needs or wants across to others, no matter how you are able to do it. Over the last few months my son has gone from frustrated to very specific and accurate because of his "buttons" after years of trying to pull speech and signs out of him. His world has opened in a unique way and there are things going on we never knew were there! God gives us all a unique testimony!

I'm a mom of a 3 year old who is hard of hearing. He's now at this stage where he tries so hard to speak to express himself. I find the moments where he's verbally searching for the right word pure joy. It's exciting to see his verbal language coming together.

my 3.5 year old makes me laugh when he plays with his magnetic thomas trains and says 'look mum they connect with maggots!'. and he's very firm when he corrects my pronunciation of octopus: 'no mum, it's UP-topus.' also i called my 18 month old daughter a crazy cracker this morning and she went straight to the pantry, yanked on the (locked) doors saying 'cracker? cracker? yum yum '

The use of words marks an important step in becoming interactive people rather than merely cuddly and messy additions to the household. With our children, especially the first, it was illuminating to be able to share perception, albeit limited, with someone at a knee-high eye level. Great article!

The connection between language and memory is fascinating. In the course of my studies, I've often challenged people to try to think without using words, to illustrate this connection. The mind also conjures up mental images, sure, but when you conjure the mental image of, say, a horse, the mind automatically fills in the word-label "horse". It's so hard-wired into our way of perceiving and making sense of the world that to try and envision the time in one's life where this was not the case is so cool. I've always found it so interesting that there's a blank period at the beginning of all our lives, a mode of thinking that we simply can't conceive of once we acquire language, because its influence becomes so pervasive so quickly, and becomes in large part the framework through which we come to learn and understand the world around us.

It is lovely to see children develop their language skills. They are so adorable as they try to communicate and describe things around them.

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I am not a mommy, but a new a aunite! baby's first words are coming soon and these are very exciting times indeed :)

Great story and video.

it seems that my now 2 1/2 year old daughter has been trying to talk to us since the day she was born. now that she has very clear words and full sentences, it is amazing what is in that fantastic little mind. she is less frustrated because she can now tell us what she wants - and subsequently, we are less frustrated as parents. and some of things she says... so spectacular. (the swear words, however, probably not so nice.) xoxoxox

I was amazed when, upon my asking him about his boo-boo, my 3- year old proceeded to describe his fall on to "the hard surface on the side of the house". He continued to describe his experience in detail. I was so into what he was saying...I discovered that what he meant by "hard surface" was the concrete walkway. I realized from this that it is important to speak with our children as we would other adults, in most cases, and not to underestimate their ability to use words in the right context to convey their reality to us. I do agree with a previous poster to listen very carefully to what our kids are saying!

My son is turning 2 next month and I too am amazed at how sentences get strung together and his language is being discovered. Last week he said "nee-moh" when he finished his snacks, now he says "need more". It's amazing how their brains develop so rapidly.

Wonderful!!! My 2 1/2 year old son talks NON STOP!!!! I love every minute of it. He has become quite the storyteller and comedian. He loves to make me smile!!!

A topic dear to my heart as a Speech Pathologist and a mother of an 11 month old! My favourite quote from a young speech pathology client goes something along the lines of, 'words are like teeth.. you start with none, you have lots as you grow up, and then you lose them all when you are old!'. May you enjoy your child's upcoming language explosion!

My twins are 13 months old. The girl has a few dozen words, learns a new one every day. The boy - he says "dog" and "ball" But he gets *so excited* when he actually sees one of those 2 things in person so he can tell me. Like, so, so psyched! It's amazing to watch, and it's a tiny indication of the power of language! Great article. :)

LOVE the words now because when they become teenagers.......they clam up. You can't pull a word out of them. Sometimes just grunts and jesters. I miss that age. "How was your day?" ............"Fine".

A very thought-provoking post/video. I have enjoyed the responses immensley! MsSuzanne's in particular, made me smile :0) "My name is NOT Zoe! It is Zo-ohee-ohee!" She was quite serious in the proclamation of her name." Children are such imaginative little creatures :) They open ones eyes to a whole new world.....♥ Thank you for sharing XO

@hawthornehill, LOL :) I can see why you miss it!

Great quote 123kabang. Very true indeed!

This caught my eye this morning and set me off thinking. My youngest son, who is two and a half, has been diagnosed with Apraxia. In the most basic way Apraxia can be described as a disconnect between the brain and the speaking parts of the body. He understands everything, wants to express a lot of things but his mouth is unable to coordinate the correct movements that form the words. With the help of speech therapy he is learning to speak and it has been a HUGE key in developing his sense of self. Even when the words aren't quite right and the message isn't always clear we've seen first hand how meaningful it is when a sense of understanding is achieved between two people through communication. Thanks for your thoughts!

Wonderful story. My friend's son has autism and his language skills are not developed. But, this child is amazing. He gets his point across and in time when he develops speech he will be a wonderful communicator. Loved this story. Truly.

My mom says she can't remember what my first word was because there were so many of them; they say having three MUCH older siblings made me have a more sophisticated vocabulary than my other kids my age.

A little off the subject, BUT-- there is another awesome Radiolab podcast on numbers, and they talk about how babies and primitive people perceive numbers. This sort of reminded me of it. It's very interesting.

i words in all languages...i love silence, i love music. I love the space between thoughts and how you tried imagining what's it's like to be in the space your child is in pre-language. and then as adults we get to learn meditating...and sometimes beyond learning meditation and to distance one's self from thoughts, we find quiet space. maybe that's where creativity lies.

Lovely article! I love words in any form - such a powerful expression, together with our creativenes!

My daughter didn't speak until she was 3, her kindergarten teacher said that will always be her style, she'll wait until she has something to say, until she fully understands a concept to contribute to the discussion, won't waste her time or yours and that has proven to be her style, sometimes frustrating but fascinating to see her mind at work. What else I'm taking away from this elegant post is how all of us got to conect here today in this precise moment...the development of language was key to our being transcendently human and continues to guide us as we keep moving forward. Nice work Caleb!

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Really enjoyed this as our daughter is almost two and everday it is new words. She is learning two languages as her father is Turkish and I am American. She uses a mix of both and creates her own language. From seeing her grow I have learned to also be patient with myself as an expatriot living in a new culture with a completely new language. Also it is a special relationship for you as the parent to be that translator...so close to your child helping interpret the world:) So much to think about. thanks!

As a mom of a three year old (going on 21) and an eleven month old, I can appreciate the wonder of watching them express what has already being building up in their mind since they were born. We're bilingual at home and it's a nice connection to my roots to be able to teach my children my native language and all the cultural connections that go along with it. Words are the expression of milenia of wisdom that are passed on to us and that I hope to pass on to them. Enjoy every second, rejoice with the newly learned words, play with words, songs, books, nature. It's amazing!!

"my language is my life" it has been said, and watching my toddlers use signlanguage (my sister is a deaf-educator) and then 'real' words has been a quirky and unexpected pleasure, thanks for drawing attention to the fun to be had in keeping your mouth shut and simply listening to teh words of others from time to time!

Very interesting article and comments.

I love that jodyvanb mentioned what her 70 year old friends advice was....always answer questions. It is what we did/do. It insures curiosity, trust, love...and most importantly wonder. The other thing that we did...we had no sign of a big box in our home that created a false world. Her growing up was filled with her speaking stories everywhere she tromped those little feet of her and big brown eyes.

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I have three sons, one is at the same stage as your son, the other two are older. What I find most remarkable is when they really get it and use language to communicate more than jsut needs and wants. It is truly amazing to listen to 4 and 3 year old brothers discussing what color their imagnary race car should be! Language is so amazng and is integral for us to really know the insides of another person.

My daughter was speaking full sentences, without baby talk, by the age of 16 months. We always remarked on how AMAZING her memory was and this opens my eyes to exactly WHY. She learned complex language early enough to be able to apply it to, and reference, memories from when she was a little over a year old. I never spoke baby-talk to my children and USED big words that they learned very early. My son was also very advanced, reading books like, Little Women at 8 years old, teachers would use him to help teach their classes because he was able to relate larger concepts in a way that children could understand. I was still even a little surprised when, at age 11, he spelled paradigm without even pausing. I did throw him for a loop when I asked him to spell, "onomatopoeia". :o] We have often tried to imagine how a dog thinks without language [ as we know it ]. Scent, types of sound, and body language predominate their communication. We have even discussed having a "Dog Day" where we try to limit our perceptions, conceptions, and communications. :o] Very interesting article~!

Also I have just started reading the Tao Te Ching which states, "The Tao that can be shared is not the true Tao". Referencing the idea that the Tao exists outside of words. We disconnect ourselves from the truth of a thing when we use words to describe it. It is a paradox because the Tao can't be shared without using words. In a way the young man was immersed in the idea of the Tao. Did his lack of comprehension of this concept, having no fore knowledge of it, diminish the actual experience of it? IOW is it more meaningful to remove words from our comprehension than to never have comprehended them in the first place~?

I can't imagine that. Although he did not learn language he must have been nurture enough throughout his life that his brain developed normally. One would think that the healthy 'normal' neurological make up of your brain at age 27 would have evolved to such a level based largely upon human interaction alone. Ho else can you nurture/exist on a healthy level? It's a miracle his brain could handle the language learning process so late in life. Amazing story!

Excuse the typos.