Boy Wonder’s vocabulary is expanding every day. It seems like just yesterday he said his first words, Da-da. Of course he did say that yesterday and this morning too. Basically whenever he wants something I get summoned with a hearty “Da-da!”.
These days he says plenty of words clearly “Car!”, “Trucko!”, “Ice Cream Man!”, and “No!”. I find myself marveling at the idea that I can communicate with him. Well, I can talk to him. Whether or not he wants to answer is anyone’s guess. Then there are times when he says some unclear things too.
Bex and I have started referring to the babbles, gurgles, and demonic sounds that come out of him as a new language, Lukeanese. Immersion classes will be offered at Harvard, Yale, and a number of other Ivy League schools next fall. Luke as a second language has taken some time to get used to. Only recently have I learned to discern when “Ma” means Mommy or milk. I couldn’t tell you how I know the difference, I just do.
Until Lukeanese becomes a more widely used language, I find myself having to translate what he’s saying to store clerks, grandma’s, and other parents at the park. In fact, I spend a good part of my day translating for him.
In the interest of lightening my workload, I’ve included a Luke to English dictionary for anyone who needs help understanding what my little sidekick is trying to tell them.
| Sounds Like | Means |
| Na Na | Banana |
| Ma | Milk or Mom; depends who’s closer |
| Chak-O-Lah | Motorcycle |
| Muh-nah-muh | Bird |
| Shoe! Shoe! Shoe! | Look Daddy, I took my show off while you were driving. |
| Uh-Oh | Definitely not an accident |
| Ba pah da pah dah | …We’re not sure yet. |
Hopefully this helps. I’d love to avoid that awkward moment when my kid is telling you a story and we both look at each other with confused expressions. I don’t know what he’s saying any more than you do. So let’s both pretend he’s talking about the ’93 Chicago Bulls and agree they were amazing.