Hey Sharon and CitySherry

[Kirsten]

Alright I know at least you two have twins older than mine. How long did their twinspeak influence their normal language development? Mine fraternal twins will be 3 in 2 more months and there are times still where I think some twinspeak is being mixed in to their speech and I can't figure out what the heck they are talking about. Any suggestions or just experience of when you noticed they were finally speaking more clearly.

TIA

 

[Kain99]

I had never heard of twinspeak so I just had to look it up. Found a forum with twinspeak as the topic of discussion. Check it out.

Twinspeak

 

[Kirsten]

Hey Kain thanks for the link. I don't feel so bad mine are talking much more clearly than what they are describing at an earlier age it is just the once in awhile word that they slip in on me that I can not figure out for the life of me. I have heard that it takes until about 4 or 5 before the twinspeak is gone, though I wish it didn't leave entirely, and longer for identical twins.

 

[Sharon]

Originally posted by Kirsten
1) How long did their twinspeak influence their normal language development?

2) I think some twinspeak is being mixed in to their speech and I can't figure out what the heck they are talking about.

1) I wouldn't say it hampered their normal speech development much at all. They were able to understand me when I was talking to them as they learned the early basic language skills. By the time they were pre-K age (about 4 yrs. old) they would talk normally to the rest of the world.

2) They'll grow out of it. Don't even try to learn their language, it's more fun to listen to them interact with each other when they don't know you're there. I had no idea what they were saying to each other when they were alone, but they were quite verbal and they knew how to interact and understand each other. They also had an older sister (by 2 yrs.) who seemed to understand them. If I got confused at what they were saying I would ask her and she would tell me.

 

[Kirsten]

Thanks Sharon. My oldest son, he is older by 3.5 years sometimes gets it. What is frustrating is when they slip a twinspeak word in with a normal sentence, usually requesting something or asking about something. They expect me to understand it and I just feel like an idiot asking "What do you want" over and over and getting the same response and not knowing what in the world they are talking about. And the weird thing is it seems to be about abstract stuff, like they want permission to do something so it isn't an object that I can say "Show Me" and understand it.

I know it is a language I will never understand, just wish they wouldn't slip it in when talking to "poor old demented" mommy who will never understand their language.

 

[citysherry]

My identical twins never really exhibited “twinspeak” but rather a very sing-song humming thing. When they were very young toddlers (1.5 to 2) and engrossed in some activity/task, they would simultaneously start humming in perfect rhythm with each other and stop it at exactly the same time...it was freakishly amazing.

 

[Sharon]

Originally posted by citysherry
they would simultaneously start humming in perfect rhythm with each other and stop it at exactly the same time...it was freakishly amazing.

I know what you mean sort of. I would ask my sons a question and they would reply in stereo; exactly the same words at the same time. It happened frequently up until about the time they were 10 yrs old, though not much after that.

 

[Kirsten]

Now you both have identical twins right? I knew sherry's girls were but couldn't remember if your boys were Sharon.

It took me by surprise when the munchkins started doing twinspeak since I thought that happened more with Identical Twins or at least with same sex more than different sexed twins. I understand the sing song humming too, they do that though they have now taken very different paths with it at almost 3.

This is just something that only another twin or multiple Mom or Dad would understand.

 

[Sharon]

My sons are identical twins. Now-a-days you couldn't tell.

It's funny because I have a collage of pics of the kids hanging in the hallway. Last week as I was dusting the frames "T" comes up and asks, "Which one am I?"

I'd never given it much thought that they didn't recognize themselves in their baby pics the way us single babies do.

 

[citysherry]

Originally posted by Sharon
My sons are identical twins. Now-a-days you couldn't tell.

It's funny because I have a collage of pics of the kids hanging in the hallway. Last week as I was dusting the frames "T" comes up and asks, "Which one am I?"

I'd never given it much thought that they didn't recognize themselves in their baby pics the way us single babies do.

I know exactly what you're talking about! My girls will argue over who is who in some of their baby pictures. We have family members like my older brother that can't tell them apart to this day and the sad part is he has a set of 13yr. twin boys.