Idioglossia
Encyclopedia
An idioglossia is an idiosyncratic language
invented and spoken by only one person or very few people. Most often, idioglossia refers to the "private languages" of young children, especially twin
s, the latter being more specifically known as cryptophasia
, and commonly referred to as twin talk or twin speech.
Children who are exposed to multiple languages from birth are also inclined to create idioglossias, but these languages usually disappear at a relatively early age, giving way to use of one or more of the languages introduced.
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
invented and spoken by only one person or very few people. Most often, idioglossia refers to the "private languages" of young children, especially twin
Twin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
s, the latter being more specifically known as cryptophasia
Cryptophasia
Cryptophasia is a peculiar phenomenon of a language developed by twins that only the two children could understand. The word has its roots from crypto meaning secret and phasia meaning speech disorder...
, and commonly referred to as twin talk or twin speech.
Children who are exposed to multiple languages from birth are also inclined to create idioglossias, but these languages usually disappear at a relatively early age, giving way to use of one or more of the languages introduced.
Case studies
- Sam and Ren McEntree, 17-month-old twins, featured in ABC News
- June and Jennifer GibbonsJune and Jennifer GibbonsJune and Jennifer Gibbons , were identical twins who grew up in Wales. They became known as 'The Silent Twins' owing to their choice to communicate only with their immediate family. They began writing works of fiction but turned to crime in a bid for recognition...
- Kennedy twins of San Diego, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, who were subjected to intensive study, including an exhaustive analysis of their language. (They named themselves "Poto and Cabengo")
Media
- The 1994 film NellNell (film)Nell is a 1994 drama film starring Jodie Foster as a young woman who has to face other people for the first time after being raised by her mother in an isolated cabin. The film was directed by Michael Apted, and was based on Mark Handley's play Idioglossia. The original music score is composed by...
, starring Jodie FosterJodie FosterAlicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
, depicts a woman who speaks an idioglossia. The stage play on which it is based is also called IdioglossiaIdioglossia (play)Idioglossia is a play by Mark Handley about a girl who grows up without modern culture learning how to speak. It was first performed in 1992 at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey...
. - The concept albumConcept albumIn music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
The Perfect Element, part IThe Perfect Element, part IThe Perfect Element, Part I is Pain of Salvation's third studio album, released in October 2000. It is a concept album that focuses on the forming of the individual, particularly on the events from one's childhood and adolescence. It is the first segment of a planned three-part concept...
, by Pain of SalvationPain of SalvationPain of Salvation is a Swedish progressive rock band featuring Daniel Gildenlöw, who is the lyricist, chief composer, guitarist, and lead vocalist. Their sound is characterised by powerful, accentuated guitar work, broad vocal range, abrupt switching between heavy and calm passages, intense...
, is centered around a song "Idioglossia". - James Joyce'sJames JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
novel Finnegans WakeFinnegans WakeFinnegans Wake is a novel by Irish author James Joyce, significant for its experimental style and resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's...
was written using an idioglossia. - SkinsSkins (TV series)Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
Series 3 Episode 9 shows KatieKatie FitchKatherine "Katie" Fitch is a fictional character in the television series Skins, played by Megan Prescott. She is introduced in the third series...
and Emily FitchEmily FitchEmily Fitch is a fictional character in the television series Skins, played by Kathryn Prescott. She is introduced in the third series. Her sister Katie is played by the actress' real-life sister Megan Prescott.-Characterization:...
using an idioglossia. - Vocalizations used by Karl JenkinsKarl Jenkins-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...
on his AdiemusAdiemus-Concept:Each Adiemus album is a collection of song-length pieces featuring harmonised vocal melody against an orchestral background. There are no lyrics as such: instead the vocalists sing syllables and 'words' invented by Jenkins...
series of albums are not proper idioglossia, since they serve merely as an instrument, conveying no meaning. The same is the case for the Vonlenska (Hopelandic) language employed by IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic group Sigur RósSigur RósSigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
. - Sherri and Terri on The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
sometimes use an idioglossia. - The two teenage protagonists of the film Disco PigsDisco PigsDisco Pigs is a 2001 Irish film directed by Kirsten Sheridan and written by Enda Walsh, who adapted it from his 1996 play of the same name. Cillian Murphy and Elaine Cassidy star as Cork teenagers who have a lifelong, but unhealthy, friendship that is imploding as they approach adulthood.-Plot:The...
, Darren and Sinéad, use an idioglossia. - Singer Lisa GerrardLisa GerrardLisa Gerrard is an Australian musician, singer, and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with former music partner Brendan Perry....
sings many of her songs in an idioglossia that she has developed since the age of twelve. - Characters Jim and Tim Possible from the Disney Channel series Kim PossibleKim PossibleKim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...
often use twinspeak.
See also
- Home signHome signHome sign is the gestural communication system developed by a deaf child who lacks input from a language model in the family...
, a similar phenomenon among sign languageSign languageA sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
s - Unwinese spoken by British comedian Stanley UnwinStanley Unwin (comedian)Stanley Unwin , sometimes billed as Professor Stanley Unwin, was a British comedian and comic writer, and the inventor of his own language, "Unwinese", referred to in the film Carry On Regardless as "gobbledegook".Unwinese was a mangled form of English in which many of the...