MY SON SPOKE his first sentence today. Okay, so "Bye bye Daddy" isn't Shakespeare, but even the Bard had to start somewhere.
Zooming up to his second birthday, it's astonishing to hear the words finally being strung together - after listening to "more", "ties" (rough translation: "toys") and the more high-pitched, daily 7 a.m. yodelling: "Arrhh, Maammmyyy".
We brought him back from England at least partly because we wanted him to have an Irish accent. Let me explain: my missus is from the country. I'm from Dublin. So I'm the proverbial Dub down the Bog.
Naturally, his mammy doesn't like me saying that, to say nothing of the in-laws. Before I get myself even deeper into it, I'll get back to the little one's accent.
Could it be that he's already picked up a Meath accent? "Cake!" he hollers, after the fashion of an all-conquering king demanding immediate subservience. But the little divil definitely says "Cayek!"
Yesterday I was bombarded with one word: "Book." This monosyllabic utterance was accompanied by an object fitting that description being thrust into my summarily crumpled copy of The as-yet-unread Irish Times. "Book." The cry went up again. And again. And yet again.
Having gained my ambivalent attention, he took up the chant "Bay-ya". For those unfamiliar with the dialect, this meant: "Not Jack in The Beanstalk, dummy. The one about the bears.
Goldilocks was dutifully found, his eyes lit up and we told the story as wondrous pictures of friendly bay-yas gawked up at us from the page.
What is it about bears anyway? Okay, so there aren't many toddlers whose dad celebrated finishing first arts at UCD by going to Jungle Book in the Savoy and bopping to The Bare Necessities, but can this predisposition be genetic? The one video that must be watched every day - the demands start at dawn - is "Baby" (toddler talk for Jungle Book).
His favourite bit is when that slithery, sneaky snake gets his come-uppance and gets his head bashed against the ground. Cartoon violence, bossiness, loving books and words and shouting demands. Nature or nurture?
