Dad spoke to son in Klingon (exclusively, for first three years of son's life)

The Sun (U.K.) / Various ^ | November 21, 2009 | Virginia Wheeler

[Shqipo]

Did he also teach his kid how to accept the need for the the greatest enemy of all Klingons... toilet paper?

[TigersEye]

You remember more than I do. I couldn't remember which was the ancient language and which was the modern one.

I am not short and stout but I always wanted to speak Dwarfish. Tolkien didn't take it that far. :`(

[TigersEye]

Speaking of your own or just children in general? TSO@U heh

[pandoraou812]

Both lmao!

[Sherman Logan]

Khuzdul (sp?) always sounded like gargling or possibly choking to me.

[papasmurf]

Sicko.

[SunkenCiv]

Wow. Okay, so, that sound I just heard was my nerd rating dropping about forty points. I feel like such an poseur now...

;’)

Thanks hennie pennie.

[TigersEye]

I think I just liked the idea of exploring the Mines of Moria and carrying a big double bit axe like Gimli’s.

[hennie pennie]

Remember how decades ago, some psychologist raised his child along with a baby chimpanzee of the same age?

I guess I'd rather learn a secondary dead language as a toddler, even as strange as the choice of Klingon, than be raised along with a surrogate 'sibling' chimp, so that my parent coulc scientifically document the differences between infant & toddler humans & chimps.

LOL

"....New research even indicates that the onset of Alzheimer's disease in bilinguals is, on average, delayed by four years compared to monolinguals. The Northwestern researchers chose to study bilinguals who learned a second language at an early age and in a non-classroom study to avoid suggestions that their subjects simply were exceptionally talented or motivated foreign language learners...."

Cache at Google of May/2009 Science Daily article

[NonZeroSum]

I am not sure the bi-lingual hypothesis has been demonstrated to be true. I can think of several people who know 2, 3 or even 4 languages but as adults have not been able to extend understanding to a 5th or 6th language.

It's true statistically, as far as I know. Your anecdotes wouldn't change that.

[Stoat]

Remember how decades ago, some psychologist raised his child along with a baby chimpanzee of the same age?

I'm sure that my experiences are an aberration and are not in any way representative of the vast majority, but it just so happens that in my personal experience, the children of Psychologists that I've known (which has been several) have universally been the very most screwed-up, unhappy, suicidal and clinically depressed people I've ever met.  Again I'm sure that it's just my bad, random luck in whom I've met from this demographic.

"....New research even indicates that the onset of Alzheimer's disease in bilinguals is, on average, delayed by four years

I'm not surprised...studies have also shown that folks who do lots of crossword puzzles and similar games involving memory or deduction as well as people who do a lot of creative writing tend to have a delayed onset of Alzheimer's as well.  Interesting, thank you :-)

[Stoat]

Sicko.

Liberal. (no difference)

[Stoat]

Did he also teach his kid how to accept the need for the the greatest enemy of all Klingons... toilet paper?
 

So THAT's why Klingons are always angry! 

"snicker"

[Stoat]

It sounds like child abuse to me but if he wanted to see if his son would speak an invented language why didn’t he pick Tolkien’s Elven language? Tolkien was a linguist too and I’m sure he made Elven much more complete than Klingon is.

Indeed, and I am utterly thunderstruck that someone who 'apparently' has a Phd in Linguistics would even attempt such an 'experiment' without having checked out an obvious pitfall.

From the article:

Dr Speers experienced problems with his project as the alien language lacked common words like "diaper" and "bottle."

Anyone with even a minimal intelligence and no formal schooling whatsoever would look at a project like that and instantly see such a monumental problem.  The fact that this twit is a lib explains it in this circumstance.

[TigersEye]

It’s truly amazing. I guess his kid is lucky his dad isn’t a researcher in radioactive materials or an entomologist specializing in meat eating insects.

[muawiyah]

Frankly I think the supposed bi-lingual advantage is just European propaganda designed to encourage transborder comity. As adults only a few people retain the ability to learn a different language.

[SunkenCiv]

:’)