Can you hear me now?

Karren was not our earliest talker. She learned to babble early, and she sounded like she was carrying on a conversation, but it was babbling, not words. Probably about the time she turned two, I began to worry that she had some hearing loss, either congenital, or temporary because of recurring ear infections. I began looking for an opportunity to test my theory.

One day I found myself in the family room with Karren, who was playing with her back to me. I watched her for a moment as she played intently.

Then I whispered.

"Karren."

No response.

"Karren."

Still no response. My heart began to sink as visions of hearing aids and speech therapy rose in my mind.

"Karren."

And then the whispered reply.

"What?"

Obviously, Karren's language skills developed in time, and with great fluency. Her brief tendency to transpose sounds, however, added a new word to the family lexicon: mazagine.