T's Language Development: A Small Conversation about a Cat

T and his recent love, tricycle

In the past two weeks, T has been talking about cats, "n'yan n'yan" in baby Japanese.


First, the nurse told me that T had a conversation with the other toddler of the same age when they took a morning walk.
The little girl, who is much more advanced in language, wondered aloud, "どうこうだろう。" meaning "where is it (a stray cat)?"
T, despite that he just started to speak two-word sentences, emphatically answered,"あち いちゃだ。" (it has gone there!!)

It is difficult to determine whether he simply repeated what he had heard often, or whether he meant what he said. However, the conversation seemed to be working between the two.

Two days later, we were as usual on our bike ride to the nursery in the morning. I pointed out a poster for a lost pet cat to T, telling him in Chinese that the cat had gone lost, and the keeper was worried its whereabouts. I then added, "where was the kitty?"

After a short silence, he said, "n'yan n'yan n'ai" (ニャンニャン ない), meaning that the cat was gone.

I repeated in Chinese, "where was the kitty?"

T, "あち いちゃだ。"(it has gone!)

Was that a conversation in both languages? I was thrilled.