We are now daily in contact with our little granddaughter. Patti is nearly two and a half, and her language skills are developing at a prodigious rate. Of course, considering how much her mother and I like to talk, it’s no wonder she is following suit

But, seriously: witnessing this little one acquire speech is the most astonishing thing I’ve ever seen! Our own children were adopted at older ages (6 and nearly 14). We watched them go from being Russian speakers to English speakers in just a few months. That process fascinated me, particularly since being fluent in Russian, I could observe it with an analytical eye. I could compare it to the basic process of learning a second language

This is different. My husband and I are seeing for the first time how joyous baby noises and pitched babble take on the rhythm of prose. We’re witnessing how nouns, verbs, and, suddenly, short sentences pop out like tiny explosions. We’re wowed by the way a word, overheard days earlier, shows up confidently in Patti’s mouth, as though she’d known it forever.

Watching Patti work out word order is the most impressive part. Of course, word order is the key to English. If Patti were growing up in Germany, I’d be standing in awe of her ability effortlessly to master those pesky gendered nouns and add the right declension endings. Just think: all those drills in German classes and yet I couldn’t achieve what a toddler learns in a week.

But here, in the English-speaking world, Patti doesn’t have to worry about der, die, das or accusative singular. She can throw herself instead into mastering vocabulary and word order . . . only her versions are so much cuter! And they’re sometimes more logical than the ones she will ultimately learn to say. My favorite presently is this syntax: I like it ______. Into the blank goes whatever noun strikes her fancy: I like it hug. I like it kitty. I like it juice. It makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

Most of you have experienced this process multiple times. You can offer endless examples of such adorable cuteness from your own little ones. It isn’t “news” to you.

But it is news to us. We’ve spent our lives grappling with the written language in an academic context. Whether it’s writing books, editing articles, or helping undergrads (yes undergrads!) figure out the difference between a direct and an indirect object, language has been our work. And, yes, of course, it’s a constant source of personal joy and fulfillment, but still, it’s an intellectual system we grapple with daily.

But to be gobsmacked by the miracle of language? Finally I see it. Language is a spark of Divine Creativity that trickles down to each of God’s children. Each of us receives this spark when we undergo what the world calls “learning to talk.” In reality, we have being graced by a miracle.

I don’t ever want to forget my new understanding of language. I want to cherish it daily as the Divine gift it is—one that others are blessed to witness. Or, as Patti would say, “I like it language.” Thank you, dear Patti, for teaching me this lesson.