There are about 6500 spoken languages on Planet Earth.

Based on what I heard come out of my wife’s mouth this morning, I believe there are now 6501.

“Tu mencha ki mo laga pimo meo woo?”

Some might dismiss such an utterance as mindless babble, but as she seemed to be waiting expectantly for an answer, I pondered what I’d just heard.

One possibility is that dementia had restructured her brain’s neural pathways so that she is now communicating telepathically with a life form in a far away galaxy. Following this language logic, I responded-

“Fongu ma blata wo bela vandu urgono!”

I held my breath, hoping my Earthling accent had not spoiled the alien dialect.

She hugged me and turned back to her coloring book.

I smiled. My “of course I love you, dear,” response had gotten through.

Yes, it has been suggested that these strange sounds may not be attempts to communicate with extraterrestrial beings.

dementia may be scrambling my own neural pathways. My retort is-

“Bong atu singu!”

tio stib

You might also enjoy: This child Who Once Was Woman, My Dementia Diary