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We were living in Sauniatu Village on the island of Upolu in Western Samoa. One night, as I was studying at a small desk in our bedroom, I realized that our children were playing in the bedroom where I was. They were also arguing and singing. I realized that "this moment" will pass and I need to record what was going on. I turned on my small reel-to-reel tape recorder and let it run. This discussion and the singing, playing and arguing was recorded. The battery on the recorder was a bit low and so the voices were at a slightly lower pitch than how they actually spoke. When I made this digital copy of the tape, the speed was slightly faster than the original recording and so you will hear their voices at a slightly higher pitch than was normally the case. Later, we asked the children to sing and leave messages for their grandparents on the same tape. This recording is a combination of their original "taping" and the later parts. I should have done more of this with them but hindsight is always so much better than foresight!
Most of their "play talk" was in the Samoan Language areound the village and the house. They dreamed and spoke in their sleep in that language. The older three also gave their talks in church in Samoan. Their ability with the language stood them in good stead with their playmates!

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