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Why babies cry in their native tongue

Just days after birth, babies are much too young to control their vocal cords or the muscles that shape the mouth to make specific sounds. But that doesn’t stop them from communicating in their mother tongue, new research suggests.

The study monitored thirty French and German newborns, and noted distinct differences between the cries of the two tiny groups. The wails mimicked the patterns, rhythms and intensity of their native language. Scientists believe fetuses start to learn the melody of ambient language during the third trimester in the womb. By imitating what they hear, they endear themselves to their mothers.

Plenty more on babies.


Comments (2)

Nov 07, 2009
Interesting... babies are smarter then we think.
Nov 08, 2009
lou suSi said...
i also believe that laughter is something that can reveal mother tongue ... we can modify our behaviors, study the specific dialect of varied regions of the word, but when we laugh, when we cry, when we express some intense emotion ( such as anger or grief ) we return to an area of honesty ... we are brought back to the place where we grew up, to that area where we first learned our own voice + the voice of our own people

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