Vocabulary

My 4-year-old son is quite a chatter box.. He was asking non-stop questions during the 1/2 hour flight from Miri to KK yesterday. A toddler's vocabulary, although limited, is actually very interesting. Language development is different from one child to another.

Well, for my son, he mixes english and malay plus a wee bit of chinese language in his conversations. Here are some examples:

Malay:
Orang - uwang
Parit - pawhit
Nah! Baru tau! - Nah, bauwu tau
Punya - puna
Banyak - banak

English:
I don't want this - I doo wan dis
Go home - Goo hoom
Thank you - Thick koo
Computer - Pompewter
Drink water - Dwink wooter
Yesterday - Last day

Sometimes other members of the family don't get what my son is saying. And he would get frustrated that they can't understand him, and end up throwing a tantrum. Most of the time only I can understand what he's trying to say. But sometimes i don't. And that, too, makes him mad.

Children grow up so fast, and before you know it, they're grown-ups already. So I let my kids enjoy their childhood years, just like I did when I was a kid.