Sumith Prasad
In Netflix’s drama film ‘His Three Daughters,’ Katie and Christina occasionally talk to each other in gibberish. These incomprehensible words are initially exchanged after they reminisce about their childhood. When a doctor visits their father, Vincent, to evaluate his condition and sign his do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order, the eldest sister uses similar words again. Interestingly, Rachel, the third sister, is not involved in these conversations, making it appear as a secret language that exists only between the other two daughters. The gibberish words open a window into the sisterhood Katie and Christina share while also portraying Rachel’s place in their lives! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Katie and Christina Talk in Pig Latin
Rather than in gibberish, Katie and Christina talk in pig Latin, a language formed by altering English words, specifically by rearranging the order of the consonants. There can be innumerable variations of the language, but in the standard format, the first consonant of a particular word is moved to the end along with a vocalic syllable. Pig Latin is a language often formulated by children to communicate with each other without the adults surrounding them understanding what they are saying. Katie and Christina also must have developed their variation of the language when they were children and before the former moved out of the apartment in New York City.
Katie and Christina start to talk in gibberish after they recollect the memories associated with their childhood. Their reunion after a long while to take care of Vincent also sets the stage for the two sisters to catch up and share the warmth and love they once cherished together. By using pig Latin, they are becoming those children again. The usage of the language can be seen as their way of reclaiming the relationship that ceased to exist after they separated to be with their own respective families. In addition to the three daughters’ reunion to look after their father, the film is also the two sisters’ tale of reconnection using what they treasured during their childhood.
The film does not translate what Katie and Christina say in pig Latin. Azazel Jacobs, who wrote and directed the film, referred to several variations of the language to develop these words. “I didn’t speak it as a kid, and I just looked up different pig Latin languages, so I typed in the pig Latin — I don’t know if it’s that, it’s like a childish gibberish — that seemed like the simplest way of communicating,” the filmmaker told IndieWire. The second exchange, in particular, is seemingly about preparing Vincent for the doctor’s visit.
Katie and Christina’s Secret Language Establishes Rachel’s Isolation
‘His Three Daughters’ progresses through Rachel’s struggles to fit in with Katie and Christina. Even though Vincent equally loved them as his daughters, Katie and Christina fail to see Rachel as their sister since she was born to a different mother and father. This failure creates an emotional distance between the former two and the latter. The pig Latin variation only the two biological daughters know adds to this sense of isolation. Since Rachel does not know the language, she is left out of the conversations even though she does not try to join them.
Katie and Christina might have created this secret language after Vincent married Sarah, Rachel’s mother. The two sisters were struggling with the death of their mother, and seeing her father replace her with another woman must have been heartbreaking for them. Even though Rachel was not directly involved in the decisions of Vincent and Sarah, the sisters’ ill feelings must have also extended to her. They likely formulated the secret pig Latin variation to express their sorrow, anger, and frustration of seeing a new woman and girl stealing their father’s affection without the trio understanding them. If that’s the case, the language paints a picture of how separated Rachel was from Katie and Christina even in the past.
Read More: His Three Daughters: Is the Netflix Film Based on a True Story?
