December 06, 2004
The Igjay is Upay
There are times in life when adults need to have a discussion and it needs to be kept from the children, but for whatever reason the children are present.
To illustrate my point, say you're in the car with the whole family. Mom and dad want to discuss the possibilty of letting their spawn go on the Love Ride with dad, but they don't want little Pinky in the back seat to know what they're talking about.
Growing up for me it meant hearing my mother speak Yiddish. When she and my grandmother would talk, particiularly in the car, when they didn't want us to understand, they would switch to Yiddish. They would jabber back and forth. It eventually got to where I could pick out words here and there and get the gist of their discussion, but I was never actually taught to speak it.
And to digress for a moment here, does anyone actually speak Yiddish anymore, I mean besides my mother and her friends down in Florida? And does anyone actually get taught Yiddish, or is it something you just either know or don't know?
Anyway, I always wished my husband spoke either French or Spanish, or at least had a rudimentary understanding of either so that I could communicate the secret adult messages that must be kept from the small person. Alas, this is not so.
But the hub is positively fluent in Pig Latin. So when we need to have those top secret mom and dad discussions and the spawn is present we use it. Chuck is much quicker at it than I am, but I manage.
It seems lately Miss Spawn has been picking out words here and there in our discussions. Frankly, it's gotten to the point where it's no longer safe to speak in Pig Latin around her. It made me wonder if the princess has a facility for foreign languages.
Now, I'll give you that learning Pig Latin is not exactly like learning to speak....ummm.....Latin, but unless someome explains to you how it works, it's pretty much....ummm....Latin.
Well, today I was cleaning out Zoe's backpack, and discovered this:
Ustedbay.
Posted by beth at December 6, 2004 10:13 PMGranted it's not exactly like when the Brits got their hands on the 'enigma' machine and began listening in on the German high command during WWII... but it amounts to the same thing: Time to come up with a new code book! :-)
Posted by: David at December 7, 2004 12:33 AMUstedes are so effing doomed when Zoeeeee hits middle school. Beth, get on HRT now. Chuck, start building the menstrual hut.
Posted by: GraceD at December 7, 2004 07:38 AMahay ahay ahay!
Horse latin: ouyogle aysogle itogle ikelogle isthogle.
It might work once.
Posted by: Jim at December 7, 2004 09:19 AMThanks Jim, now I have a headache.
Posted by: beth at December 7, 2004 09:24 AM*aughingmyassoff-lay*
God, sometimes kids are so cool... *giggling still*
Your last line is perfect.
Posted by: Stevie at December 8, 2004 10:08 AMI'm SO glad my kids don't speak Spanish yet! My hubby doesn't speak it either, but at least I can gossip with my mom on the phone.
Posted by: Joan at December 10, 2004 10:53 AM