Television – 電視-diàn shì

My youngest, just shy of 18 months, has a rather limited vocabulary of 2 words, mā mā (mommy) and chē chē (cars in babytalk, which generally involves doubling up the word). I had mixed feelings when he recently debuted his third word sequence, kàn diàn shì [看電視], or watch television. I couldn’t quite make out the utterance until he handed over the remote and proceeded to point to the television set in my room. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. But of all things, television? I guess it’s not unexpected, certainly in line with the first two brands that my oldest started recognizing when he was a baby, McDonalds and BMW. We live in an age where children are preternaturally adaptable to technology and media.