Newborn language
Nov. 15th, 2006 11:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
velvetpagehttp://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200611/20061113/slide_20061113_350_102.jhtml
This lady has identified five sounds (four of which are identical except for the consonant at the beginning or end) that all babies make, worldwide, regardless of race or linguistic background, from birth to about three months of age. There's "Neh" for hunger - the N sound is a function of an initial sucking movement; "awn" for fatigue - similar to a yawn; "heh" for discomfort, such as a wet diaper; "eair" for lower abdominal gas; and "eh" for upper gas, signaling the need to burp.
Fascinating, and it doesn't surprise me. Language and linguistics are my main areas of study, and so much is hardwired into a child's brain that it's really not surprising if this is, too.
x-posted to every parenting community I have anything to do with, so I'm sorry if you see it more than once. If it helps some new moms take care of their crying babies, it's worth it.
This lady has identified five sounds (four of which are identical except for the consonant at the beginning or end) that all babies make, worldwide, regardless of race or linguistic background, from birth to about three months of age. There's "Neh" for hunger - the N sound is a function of an initial sucking movement; "awn" for fatigue - similar to a yawn; "heh" for discomfort, such as a wet diaper; "eair" for lower abdominal gas; and "eh" for upper gas, signaling the need to burp.
Fascinating, and it doesn't surprise me. Language and linguistics are my main areas of study, and so much is hardwired into a child's brain that it's really not surprising if this is, too.
x-posted to every parenting community I have anything to do with, so I'm sorry if you see it more than once. If it helps some new moms take care of their crying babies, it's worth it.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-15 04:58 pm (UTC)Nice
Date: 2006-11-15 06:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-15 10:26 pm (UTC)