Shuh Uh
Today I listened to Daisy talking to herself in the back of the car, saying repeatedly what sounded like, "Shuh...uh. Shuh...uh. Shuh uh."" Turns out she was experimenting with saying something totally off limits and verboten in a way that would somehow make it acceptable. I tried to explain to her that as long as people understand what you are saying (i.e., "Shut up"), it doesn't matter whether you enunicated the final consonants or not.
I should explain that Daisy has developed an enormous fervor for correcting us when we say a "bad word" and will shout across the room if she hears me say something that could even remotely be construed as a bad word--like, "Ask." She herself would be utterly horrified EVER to use a bad word, and don't ask me where she got this. It's not like Mark and I have been pounding the lesson into her at all. I did, though, tell her that the expression "shut up" is extremely rude. So she was experimenting with saying it without really saying it, and it was obvious that repeating "shuh uh" held some kind of tantalizing fascination for her.
Then she said, "How about, 'shut your mouth, please, I want to say something?'" I explained that, noooooo, that would be a highly unacceptable thing to say. I asked her where she had learned the expression "shut your mouth" and she said without missing a beat, "Harry Belafonte." Oh my dear Lord! That's right! I thought. That's a line from one of the songs on her Harry Belafonte albums, "Mama Look, A Boo Boo"... something like, "Shut your mouth! Go away! Mama, look at Boo Boo."
Daisy has a very literal-minded four-year-old's comprehension of "bad words." Although I've tried a bit to explain, she doesn't really grasp the concept that it's how you use the words, and the context, rather than the innate properties of a particular word that makes it "bad." So, for example, she thinks "hell" is a bad word and she always points it out on her CATS album when one of the cats sings, "Have you been an alumnus of heaven and hell?" It's difficult to explain to her how, in some contexts, it would be okay to say "hell." Same with other words, like "freak"... you don't call someone a freak, but you can say, "I'm freaking out." There's no explaining these complexities and ambiguities to Daisy, and she corrects us a thousand times a day. She is also constantly on the lookout for new "bad words" to be severe about, and will often ask with a very serious look, "Mom, was that a bad word?" She asked me today (with some hope, I think) if "dim" was a bad word after I used it.
I should explain that Daisy has developed an enormous fervor for correcting us when we say a "bad word" and will shout across the room if she hears me say something that could even remotely be construed as a bad word--like, "Ask." She herself would be utterly horrified EVER to use a bad word, and don't ask me where she got this. It's not like Mark and I have been pounding the lesson into her at all. I did, though, tell her that the expression "shut up" is extremely rude. So she was experimenting with saying it without really saying it, and it was obvious that repeating "shuh uh" held some kind of tantalizing fascination for her.
Then she said, "How about, 'shut your mouth, please, I want to say something?'" I explained that, noooooo, that would be a highly unacceptable thing to say. I asked her where she had learned the expression "shut your mouth" and she said without missing a beat, "Harry Belafonte." Oh my dear Lord! That's right! I thought. That's a line from one of the songs on her Harry Belafonte albums, "Mama Look, A Boo Boo"... something like, "Shut your mouth! Go away! Mama, look at Boo Boo."
Daisy has a very literal-minded four-year-old's comprehension of "bad words." Although I've tried a bit to explain, she doesn't really grasp the concept that it's how you use the words, and the context, rather than the innate properties of a particular word that makes it "bad." So, for example, she thinks "hell" is a bad word and she always points it out on her CATS album when one of the cats sings, "Have you been an alumnus of heaven and hell?" It's difficult to explain to her how, in some contexts, it would be okay to say "hell." Same with other words, like "freak"... you don't call someone a freak, but you can say, "I'm freaking out." There's no explaining these complexities and ambiguities to Daisy, and she corrects us a thousand times a day. She is also constantly on the lookout for new "bad words" to be severe about, and will often ask with a very serious look, "Mom, was that a bad word?" She asked me today (with some hope, I think) if "dim" was a bad word after I used it.
posted by Sarah Goss at 9:48 PM
3 Comments:
That's hilarious! At least "shut your mouth, please, I want to say something", would make some endless talker stop and take notice. I'm enjoying picturing the scene. Heh, heh. M.B.
"Dim" is a bad word if followed by "wit."
Gompy
Hahaha, Gompy!
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