Editing Poto and Cabengo (section)

==Language==
The twins' language was characterized by an extremely fast tempo and a [[staccato]] rhythm, traits the girls transferred to their spoken [[English (language)|English]] following speech therapy. Linguistic analysis revealed that their language was a mixture of English and [[German (language)|German]] (their mother and grandmother were [[Germany|German]] born) with some [[neologism]]s and several idiosyncratic grammatical features.<ref name="WP" />

The story of the "twins who made their own language" made the national newspapers in 1978 and was included in an edition of the ''[[People's Almanac]]''. Many speech and hearing experts and [[psychiatrist]]s offered speculation as to why, in contrast to most idioglossic twins, the girls had failed to pick up English.{{Citation needed|date= March 2018}} Alexa Kratze pointed out that the girls had had very little contact with anyone outside their family and that contact within the family had been minimal at best, factors that contributed to the girls' [[developmental disability]].{{Citation needed|date= March 2018}}

Once it was established that the girls could be educated, their father apparently forbade them to speak their personal language. He was quoted in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine as saying: "They don't want to be associated as dummies. You live in a society, you got to speak the language." Asked if they remembered their language, the girls confirmed that they did, but their father gently chided them for "lying."<ref name="TIME">{{Cite news |date=December 10, 1979 |title=Ginny and Gracie Go to School |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C912582-1%2C00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112044758/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,912582-1,00.html |archive-date=November 12, 2008 |work=[[TIME (magazine)|TIME]]}}</ref> Despite being [[Mainstreaming (education)|mainstreamed]] and placed in separate classes, the girls remained affected by their family's emotional neglect. A follow-up as they approached the age of 30 revealed that Virginia worked on an [[assembly line]] in a supervised job training center, while Grace mopped floors at the fast-food restaurant [[McDonald's]].<ref>The Learning Channel, [https://web.archive.org/web/20020106135506/http://tlc.discovery.com/tlcpages/twins/s_secret.html "Twin stories"], retrieved 2007-03-07.</ref>