Lessons in Larissa-speak
It takes a while to be able to translate the sounds that Larissa makes. It’s like when parents are teaching their children to speak, and what sounds like “Bubba! bubba!” to the average listener actually means “I’d like some more breast milk in a sippy cup” to parental ears. Back to Larissa:
There is a sound Larissa makes, which to the average listener sounds like “OH!” I, however, have learned lately that there are multiple translations for this sound. Here are four of them that come to mind:
1. “I’ve just remembered something that I have to tell you!”
This is a fairly typical translation for this sound, and is common to most of the rest of the human race. What makes this sound unique in Larissa’s speech is the length of time between the “OH!” and when she decides to provide the information which she just remembered. It’s just long enough to be unnerving, and just short enough to re-convince me that she’s not simply going nuts.2. “I’m suddenly hungry!”
I learned this translation very early in our relationship. It signals the split-second transition between “I don’t feel like eating” and “We have to get food RIGHT NOW!” I don’t know how this happens, but she goes from zero to hungry in literally the blink of an eye. The term she uses for this is “My hungry kicking in”.
3. “This is where we took some photos together!”
I was hit with this version of the “OH!” last week as we were driving through downtown Hamilton. We passed the site of one of our photo-sessions with Chuck, and when Larissa said “OH!” I jumped in my seat and instinctively hit the breaks, thinking she was warning me that I was about to run over a squirrel, or maybe an Asian family or something. After I put my eyes back into their sockets, started breathing normally, and waited for Larissa to stop laughing at me, we continued the drive without further incident.
4. “They’ve almost finished building this new bridge!”
This was the most recent translation of the “OH!”, and arguably, the most obscure. This topic doesn’t come up very often, but if you happen to be passing by a soon-to-be-completed bridge that holds some significance for Larissa, and you find yourself in her company, consider yourself warned. You don’t want to be caught unprepared when an “OH!” of such ear-splittingly exclamatory force smacks you upside the eardrum.
Sounds like you really understand Larissa. However, breast milk does not go in sippy cups…this has been a public service announcement.
Comment by Kari — November 12, 2005 @ 12:23 am
I’ve had some experience with #2. Only, with my wife, it takes a longer route. Now, the beginning and end of the journey are mere moments apart but there’s more ground travelled in between. It starts with, ‘No, I’m not hungry at all,’ proceeds to, ‘I guess I could eat, if you want to,’ before we get to, ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t mind nibbling on something’ and finishing with, ‘I will eat that small child raw if we don’t get some food immediately!’ And, no, there is no hyperbole contained in my description. Hahaha.
Comment by Bart Wang — November 14, 2005 @ 5:08 pm
I cannot believe how accurately you’ve pinpointed Larissa’s “OH.” I have noticed the same thing. It’s a very distinct utterance.
Comment by Chrissy — November 14, 2005 @ 7:26 pm
You’ve only just begun to discover all the shades of “oh”.
Comment by Larissa — November 15, 2005 @ 10:55 pm