Newborns are tuned in to the ups and downs of speech, and even a cry mimics language heard while in the womb

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/14265279

The upward intonation, the guttural “ck” and even the cheeky comeback to win the argument: at just 19 months old, baby Orla has mastered the crucial elements of speaking like a scouser.

Impressively, the toddler who featured in a viral video this week appears to have done so without the need for actual words.

A clip posted on TikTok, and now viewed more than 20m times, shows Orla babbling in a Liverpudlian accent as her babysitter, Olayka, tries and fails to coax her into taking a nap. Scientists say that the cute exchange is also a vivid illustration of the processes by which babies acquire language – and the surprising role of accents.

Babies are so tuned in to the musical ups and downs of speech that even as newborns they cry in distinctive ways that reflect the languages that they have heard while in the womb.

In one 2009 study, Prof Kathleen Wermke, a pioneer in the field of speech development at the Würzburg University in Germany, found that French infants tend to wail on a rising note and German babies favour a falling melody and other patterns have been seen for Mandarin, Swedish and African languages. “When I started 40 years ago, if I told people I was recording babies crying and making high-pitched sounds they’d look at you and think ‘Is this really science?’,” she said.

  • Zagorath@aussie.zoneEnglish
    2·
    4 months ago

    Thanks for sharing this. It’s really interesting.

    Very minor (possible?) correction. I think the English word you want for “dodoi” might be “boo-boo”. “boo-hoo” is a representation of crying. Usually used sarcastically. (“Oh, you didn’t like that? Boo-hoo. Get over it.”) Whereas “a boo-boo” is a childish term for a minor injury.

    Out of interest, is Amon a common/fairly normal Portuguese pet name, or did you name him after the Avatar character? (Or something else?)

    • Lvxferre@mander.xyzM
      2·
      4 months ago

      Fixed it - thanks! “Dodói” (I also forgot the diacritic) is boo-boo, indeed - a childish way to call small injuries.

      Amon isn’t a common pet name here. The one naming him was my mum, who loves Old Egyptian culture; to give you an idea, my childhood cat was Cleópatra, and even one of my current cats (Kika) was supposed to be called Ísis. (The one naming Kika was my nephew - by then he already understood how this “naming” thing works.)