One of the most difficult classes I have ever taken was about the origins of the English language. The course covered everything from how sounds are formed by the mouth to The Great Vowel Shift. Sounds just like a class every sophomore in college wants to take, right? The hardest thing about the class was that we had to translate text and speak text in "languages" that didn't exist anymore. I had no frame of reference for how everything was supposed to sound. At least when it came to my Spanish classes I could hear the language being spoken or hear it in action whenever I wanted. But Old English? There just weren't many 500 year old people kickin the Hacky Sack around at our student union. It was, in my opinion, cruel and unusual punishment to put such a popular and socially centric young man through theses cerebral somersaults.
Well now I am finding myself in a similar situation where I am trying to decipher a language that seems made up. Atom is talking. "Baby" talking to be clear. CLEAR is precisely the problem though. It is not CLEAR what he is trying to say. It is incredibly sweet. Incredibly endearing. Incredibly frustrating.
He is so so so close it appears to conquering this communication thing. Atom even has a set of built in facial expressions to go along with his coos and grunts. I know two month olds don't typically spout soliloquies but the intention appears to be there. He is so convincing that it makes me feel dense. Dense like his "statement" should be abundantly clear. It is the oddest feeling. Both of us speaking back and forth in languages that sound like gibberish to each other.
Don't get me wrong I am thoroughly enjoying this new challenge and find a sense of achievement when we are able to carry on pleasant conversations for twenty minutes or so at a time. In fact I think I learn more in these exchanges than I do in most of my other "English" conversations I partake in. I just hope we can always share these special moments even if we both think the other person is talking nonsense.
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