Monday, February 11, 2008

Interpreter Needed

Posted: We are looking for an interpreter of the languages of Ba-ese and Da-ian.

Norah has so much to say. Unfortunately, she only says it in Ba-ese and Da-ian. How she picked those two languages up in an English-speaking family is beyond me. Perhaps she sneaks downstairs at night and watches it on TV. At any rate, we have NO idea what she is saying, so we can only guess.

Ba-ese is definitely the language of choice in the morning. When Norah wakes up, we are greeted with what I guess is “Good Morning” in her language: a smile and a hearty “ba.” Then we look at ourselves in the mirror in her room, and she says, “ba ba ba,” which must mean, “Boy, do you look sleepy or what, Mommy?”

When she reads to herself, she says, “Da da da da-da da da” as she turns the pages. It is as if she is telling the story to herself in Da-ian! Show-off! Why can't she use English like the rest of us?

The other day, I watched as she struggled to reach her pacifier. When she finally got a hold of it, she let out a very relieved “da” and promptly stuck it in her mouth. I could tell that one meant, “Ah, finally!” They must not have a word in Ba-ese that emotes the kind of joy/relief that she wanted to express.

When I point to my mouth or nose, she says “da” or “ba” to let me know she knows what I am pointing at. Maybe it’s in the inflection where one can find meaning in her languages, as is the case in Chinese...

When I am calling for James to come downstairs, she looks at the staircase expectantly and says: “dada”. Could this be Norah’s first word in our language? Or is she just saying, “Hurry up, Mommy’s calling you!” It would be easier to tell if she didn’t say “da” for so many other things!

If you are fluent in Ba-ese or Da-ian, please contact us immediately. We cannot wait to see what our Norah is really saying!

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