Twins sometimes seem to be on the same wavelength, almost as if they can communicate without speaking. They can’t really do that (so far as anyone knows) but it is common for young twins to invent their own secret language.
The fancy term for twinspeak is cryptophasia (literally “secret speech”). Twinspeak invariably includes onomatopoeia (words that sound like what they are; boom, smack, splash) and also some made-up words. But mostly, it’s all about taking actual words — albeit within the limits of young children’s ability to say them — and giving them very different meanings. Word order can also be completely at odds with what it normally is. Thus, you can speak English perfectly well and yet not be able to make heads or tails of the twinspeak invented by twins in an English-speaking home! What’s more, any given set of twins has its own from of twinspeak understood only by them and no one else.
Specialists are fascinated by twinspeak because of the windows it might open on how language evolves. However, they also worry that it could get in the way of the twins’ acquisition of normal language. Between extra-busy parents and the fact that each twin always has a playmate, twins tend to interact less than non-twins with other other people. Twins, with their limited understanding of the world, don’t see the need.
In the video posted below, you’ll see two adorable twin baby boys, Grayson and Griffin, having some sort of conversation. We have no idea what they’re trying to say. For all we know, they’re hammering out some profound world-changing idea or philosophy. Or maybe they’re just discussing flavors of baby food. In any case, these two could not be more cute!
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