The Lia Glossary

Lia can talk. And not just in the "parrot whatever she hears other people say" way, which she does very well, or in the "identify things around her" way, which she's even better at. No, aside from being able to count to twenty in English, to tamput (sampu) in Tagalog and to dies in Spanish, recite the alphabet, identify all the (capital) letters and numbers, Lia can actually talk. Last year around November, she start stringing words together to indicate what she wants, like, "Want dede" or "Want mamam" or "Want go up". Sure, it's mostly commands, but at least we know what she wants, right? Even if it's things we'd often say to her to find out what she does like. In December, she strung together these words: "Open lights Christmas Tree?" asking her yaya to turn on the christmas lights. Isn't that wickedly smart? If only we could ALWAYS understand what she's trying to say. Just this morning we had this conversation:

Play dowaporer lopipeps?

You want to play Dora the Explorer on Little Leaps?

Ok-ok?

Ok, Lia.

Tenku Mommy!

You're welcome!

You're we-come!

She does her best to say things right, and she does most of the time. For the longest time she called Mickey Mouse, Kimimau. She started saying Mickey Mouse just last week in Punta Fuego. And for people who don't spend every day with her, she could be hard to decipher. Which is important because she talks A LOT. And requires you to repeat to her what she just said, in real words, and if you're not able to give her the correct real words, she will yell it louder and louder in frustration and anger of "WHAT PART OF DUMMYBELS DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND??!?!" So I thought I'd share a sort of glossary with you, not of all the words Lia can say, but just the things she says... well, differently. :-)

The Lia Glossary (January 6, 2008)

SHAPES
ticurl = circle
re-tangle = rectangle
try-gingle = triangle

TV
dowaporer = dora the explorer
dowaboots = dora and boots
muhmey kidom = mermaid kingdom
lopipeps = little leaps
bibi aytayns = baby einstein

GREETINGS
happy to you! = happy birthday to you!
meri cri-mas! = merry christmas!
ha pa! = high five!

ANIMALS
pe-twik = penguin
bik = could mean either pig or pink
gingginggo = flamingo
hipomomus = hippopotamus
alafan = elephant

THINGS
tchee = could mean either tree or three, or the letter T, or C.
telpon = celphone or telephone
ba-tsebol = basketball
ba-menton = badminton (refering to Mike's old badminton racket)
dummybels = gummy bears

VEHICLES
mochyko = motorcycle
by-chiko = bicycle
try-chiko = tricycle