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Twin Speech : The Construction Of A Language

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Introduction Formally known as cryptophasia, idioglossia, or autonomous speech; twin speech is the construction of a language between a set twins or children close in age. The condition is said to occur in 40% to 47% of twins, Previously, the cause of twin speech was thought to be parents using baby talk with their children (Baker, 1987;). It is currently believed to be a product of social isolation (Golding-Bird & White, 1890). This perspective portrays twin speech as a tool for twins to communicate between themselves, as they have yet to acquire the L1 of their family. As with any language, there should be a set of predictable sounds, rules, and structures (Allocco, Jusczyk, & Smolensky, 2002). Aside from the constraints of Universal Grammar, the language should have a consistent syntax, morphology, and phonology. The goal of this research is to determine whether the languages of twin speech are actual languages or rearrangements of their parent’s language. Some estimates state 90% of lexical items are related to the parents language . The overwhelming similarity leads me to posit cryptophasics base their language entirely on the target L1. Rather than being fully constructed by the twins, the L1 is simply distorted between the twins. Methods The ideal participants are cryptophasic twins, ages 3 to 6. Twins within this age group are ideal because they are old enough to produce utterances consistently and have yet to reach the end of the critical period. It is important

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