The linguist and the color orange

As an English teacher and someone who loves to learn the intricacies of the English language, I am probably more aware of the different stages that the grandchildren go through as they acquire language skills. The one I am most aware of is my granddaughter, who seems to have a gift for language. I remember the first time she corrected herself on pronoun case (She started to say "I" when it should be "me" and she stopped herself, then said, "me."

The other day, I was talking in the car to Boppa about doing something "wickedly fast". She said, "Hey, Nee Nee. Wickedly fast? That sounds like 'Ding Dong the wicked witch is dead.'" She had made a relational leap that a lot of high schoolers don't do! I was just tickled pink that she related an unknown form of a word to a word that she already knew. I already think she has acquired quite a vocabulary for "just four." I think Grandson #1 (her Irish twin brother) has a good vocabulary, too. It's just harder to understand him. He has some speech difficulties although Granddaughter can usually translate. And even if she can't, he usually rewords, or uses sound effects, or even hand gestures to get across his meaning. The other day, he was saying "in the house," which I couldn't understand. So he pointed to the walls, the floor, and the ceiling and repeated himself. Then I understood.

I think Grandson knows his colors a bit better than his sister. He NEVER tells me the wrong color when I ask, even knows gray and silver! Granddaughter occasionally gets them wrong. I don't know if she's unsure of the color or just doesn't stop to think. But they know them well enough to play Candyland, although following the rules lasts at the most 10 minutes. Then it's just a matter of sliding the markers around the serpentine path!

They were asking me if I liked certain colors by holding up the card. I'd say "I like red." "I like blue." But when they would show me an orange card, I'd yell, "Nooooooooooooo!" and they'd just laugh like maniacs. They got to where they would hide the card in their pockets or behind a toy, then when I wasn't expecting it, show it to me so I'd yell "Noooooooooooooo!" That's a new game. I'm not a big fan of orange flavor ... and a lot of our competitors (college sports teams) wear orange!