Communication

Jude is two months old, and Mama Frog and zendaddy are both wrapped up in the joy of talking to Jude. It is a joyous experience because he has begun to talk back.


A few days ago the wee dive ninja spoke his first word (or so we were told by his godmum Grace when we came back from a day of Rescue Diver training in Kenting). He was surrounded by Chinese-speaking friends and loved ones, and was apparently asked the question "你好嗎？", to which he replied (with gusto) "好". Now in English this sounds like "Ni hao ma?" (meaning "How are you?") and "Hao". The Chinese word "hao" (3rd tone) is one of the most simple and fundamental in the language. It means "good", and the character is composed of two separate parts which mean 'woman' and 'son' respectively. It is an interesting anthropological note that in Chinese culture the concept of goodness is represented by the association of a mother and child. Jackie Chan used the word as a transliterative pun to a native American in the movie "Shanghai Noon".


Now, zendaddy delights in evidence of his progeny's brilliance (and there is of course plenty of it - see how efficiently the boy eructates) yet this story seemed somehow...spurious (which is a good word for Judo). Firstly, he has surely not had the time to develop skills of linguistic differentiation, let alone pronunciation, and secondly, Chinese sounds like baby talk anyway, with its long breathy vowels, indistinct consonants and high-pitched tonal variations. It's the easiest thing in the world for an infant to sound like he is babbling in Mandarin.


Really I'm just jealous. Of course he would start talking with other people, in a foreign language.


Nelle and I are having the most wonderful time having conversations with him now. When the moment is right (he is clean and not hungry, awake just right and all the rest) we sit and have conversations with him for minutes on end. He recognises you and has a smile that splits his face.





His eyes light up with joy and wondrous, simple laughing delight. That's what it is - delight. Judo is DELIGHTED to see you, and truer words were never spoke. His grin spreads right across his jowly face.

So we spend long moments in our days with these conversations, which come more easily all the time. He loves his mother's laugh, and will stop everything when he hears it anew. He loves to have his chin stroked; that makes him smile. He takes a special pleasure in delicate stroking of his head, by the zendaddy. He loves music, and is intrigued by the tribal masks that adorn our kitchen walls.

Jude smiles a lot now, and will talk to you, as long as you don't patronise him too much. He will mimic sounds you make and offer his own. We are figuring out which sound means what, but already we recognise how fierce and busy is his mind.

We're falling in love with the little bastard.

So here are two brief and unedited videos. In a few hours we must fly to Taipei to endevour to arrange the lad's legal citizenship of two nation states. Thus no fancy titles and soundtrack.

At home with masks, November 22nd 2006:



Talking with Mama Frog, November 16th 2006:



Much love to you all from the zendaddy.