Idioglossia

Idioglossia refers to an idiosyncratic language, one invented and spoken by only one or a very few people. Most often, idioglossia refers to the "private languages" of young children, especially twins. It is also 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.

Examples

Case studies

• June and Jennifer Gibbons
• Kennedy twins of San Diego, California, who were subjected to intensive study, including an exhaustive analysis of their language. (they named themselves "Poto and Cabengo")

Media

• The 1994 film Nell, starring Jodie Foster, depicts a woman who speaks an idioglossia. The stage play on which it is based is also called Idioglossia.
• The concept album The Perfect Element, part I, by Pain of Salvation, is centered around a song "Idioglossia".
• Lisa Gerrard uses an idioglossia in many of her songs.
• James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake was written using an idioglossia.
• Skins Series 3 Ep9 shows Katie Fitch and Emily Fitch talking Idioglossia
• Vocalizations used by Karl Jenkins on his Adiemus 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 Icelandic group Sigur Rós.
• Sherri and Terri on The Simpsons sometimes use an idioglossia.

Further reading

• Bakker, P. (1987). "Autonomous languages of twins". Acta Geneticae Medicae et Gemellologiae (Roma) 36 (2): 233–238. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&uid=3434134&cmd=showdetailview&indexed=google. 

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