Speak Much English?

When the girls were little, their favorite video was of Cocohontis (Emma) and Hocopontis (Maggie). Maggie liked schocklet sip cookies and Emma liked arts and craps and phising. Maughaweet like to eat pomatoes but she didn't like rice kripiks. Emma Root was all excited about putting on her pack-pack and getting on the 'cool bus.

I loved the way they pronounced words. It was so sweet. But they grew older and now they have a huge vocabulary and seldom mispronounce words. Today was a different story. Maggie tried her best to say "Gift certificate". It came out gift cerniferkent, gift cerniternint, gifercenernent. We laughed so hard I thought I would have to get out of the car. My eyes were streaming tears and I was starting to cough. She tried and tried, but she was laughing, too. Emma was trying to teach her to say it in segments: Sir - tiff- ah - kit. "Sir - tiff - er- nent", Maggie said. "No, no, listen to me," Emma said, laughing, "Sir - tiff - ah - kit. Say it slowly". "Never mind, Nana" she said. "I'll teach it to her tomorrow."

I remembered my own trouble with "specific". I was saying "suspiffic". I usually used another word, to avoid embarrassing myself. My sister finally got me to say "spud-cific". That got my tongue onto another vowel sound. Maggie plans on saying it correctly tonight when they spend the night with us. She asked me if I had any reward stickers at the house. I don't think I have to worry, though. She still can't say it. Emma told her that she needed to get the extra "r" out of the word! "Say 'ah' instead of 'er'," she told her.

Emma's only 5, but she pays attention in class. Kindergarteners Rule!