March 26, 2006
Motherese: The Universal Language?
You know what I think is the real universal language? English? Chinese? Wrong. Its motherese. Why? I believe everyone could speak this way since time immemorial.
What is motherese? It is the distinctive speech that human adults across the globe instinctively use when addressing babies. It is the Goo Goos and the Da Das that adults tend to speak when they see an infant. Vowels are lingered over, phrases are repeated in high-pitched voices, and questions carry exaggerated inflections. In short, it is Baby Talk.
Luke Simon Wilhelm, my almost 8 kilograms 5-month-old son chuckles a lot when being cooed. That is as if he understands and responds to the babbling of adults - with the goofy make face and all. I guess all infants do this.
According to a new theory as published in Scientific American. Com, motherese holds a key to the emergence of language. Read the article here.
Comments
March 30, 2006
Lessons on Fatherhood | Blackboard said (pingback):
[…] A father taking care of an infant is not just poster-cute but I regard it as an important fatherhood task. It builds bonding between the baby, which is usually more evident between the mother and child. Luke, who weighs almost 8 kilograms, is just 5 months old. He rolls from prone to supine and back on his own, is very talkative though his words are still incoherent baby talk, smiles and chuckles a lot, has good grip- both hands and feet (he could pinch with the use of his toes), he loves sitting down (still assisted though) and is attentive while he reads the newspaper, watch TV or blog with me. […]