Twins speak 26 languages, including one they invented as toddlers

New York Post

Identical twins Matthew and Michael Youlden can speak 26 languages — one of which can’t be found in the annals of etymology.
Inspired by the multicultural landscape of their hometown of Manchester in the UK, the polyglots who now run their own language learning company became interested in foreign language studies from an early age.
“Umeri isn’t ever reduced to a language used to keep things private,” the identical twin brothers told the BBC in a joint message.
There are few reliable case studies on twin-speak as most twins forget their special languages, according to Karen Thorpe, who studies language development in twins at the University of Queensland’s Brain Institute.
In general, she told the BBC, “twins do not invent a new language, they tend to produce atypical forms of the language they are exposed to.

POSITIVE

The 26 languages that identical twins Matthew and Michael Youlden speak include one that is not listed in the annals of etymology.

Early interest in foreign language studies was sparked by the multicultural environment of their hometown of Manchester, UK, where the polyglots currently operate their own language learning business.

But Umeri was their own language, and it was their first.

In a joint statement, the identical twin brothers told the BBC that Umeri is never reduced to a language used to keep things private. Given that we are identical twins, it undoubtedly holds great sentimental significance for us. “”.

The Youldens are unable to recall a time before Umeri, remembering as preschoolers their bewildered guardians as the boys made inside jokes in twin speak.

During a family vacation when they were eight years old, they learned Spanish as their third language. They then studied and developed a grammatical structure for their own native tongue, followed by Italian and Scandinavian languages.

According to the BBC, 30–50% of twins develop a singular mode of communication called cryptophasia.

Such exclusivity can be alienating even though it strengthens the twins’ bond.

Matthew told the BBC that twins have a common language that they eventually stop using, seemingly out of embarrassment. Their friends and relatives shrugged when he and Michael got together in Umeri, saying, “They’re off doing the language thing again.”. “”.

Parents of twins with private speech patterns should be aware that these behaviors can have a detrimental social impact, according to Nancy Segal, director of California State University’s Twin Studies Center. She stated that one issue with twins is that their parents often ignore them because they amuse one another but lack adult language models.

In the 1970s, the Barbados twins, June and Jennifer Gibbons, were raised in Wales. Because they had a speech impediment in common, the sisters were teased from an early age and developed such antisocial behavior that they vowed to only talk to one another.

They were unable to understand speech by the age of 19. Before being apprehended and sent to a high-security mental health facility in Broadmoor, England, the troubled sisters adopted a life of crime.

June stated in a 2023 BBC podcast about their lives, “We were desperate, we were trapped in our twinship and trapped in that language, we tried everything to separate ourselves.”.

Karen Thorpe, who studies language development in twins at the Brain Institute of the University of Queensland, says that most twins forget their special languages, so there aren’t many trustworthy case studies on twin-speak. Many, though, will continue to use unique nicknames and nonverbal clues that are only understood by the twins. She stated, “They may not have a language that we would consider exclusive, but they do have something that’s pretty unique.”.

Segal accepts. . “Twins tend to produce atypical forms of the language they are exposed to, rather than inventing a new language,” she told the BBC. They still send it to other people despite the fact that it is incomprehensible. “.”.

Even though Michael and Matthew have no plans to preserve their language, they have continued to refine and develop Umeri for themselves.

It’s one of those items that regrettably does have a shelf life. “.”.

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