| Babies cry in their native tongues; Language begins in the womb | |
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| Topic Started: Nov 6 2009, 01:55 PM (311 Views) | |
| Racial Reality | Nov 6 2009, 01:55 PM Post #1 |
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Study shows unborn babies cry in their mother tongue By Hannah Devlin Times Online November 6, 2009 Newborn babies mimic the intonation of their native tongue when they cry, indicating that they begin to pick up the first elements of language in the womb, a study suggests. Scientists were already aware that babies are able to recognise certain sounds from birth, such as their parents' voices, but they believed that infants were only able to imitate them from the age of about 12 weeks. Now research carried out in Germany suggests that babies develop a capacity for language much earlier than was previously thought. "Our study shows the importance of crying for seeding language development," said Professor Kathleen Wermke, who led the research at the University of Würzburg. The study, which is published today in the journal Current Biology, recorded and analysed the cries of 60 healthy babies: 30 born into French-speaking families and 30 from German-speaking families. The recordings were made in maternity wards when the babies were 3 to 5 days old. Analysis revealed clear differences in the shape of the babies' "cry melodies", which appeared to accord with their mother tongue. French newborns tended to cry with a rising melody contour, starting at a low pitch and ending on a high note, whereas German babies preferred a falling melody. While the average volume of crying was the same, the French babies started more quietly and built up to a crescendo, while the German babies did the opposite. These patterns are consistent with characteristic differences between the two languages, according the researchers. "When you say the word 'Papa' in German, for instance, you stress the first syllable, whereas in French it is the other way round," explained Professor Angela Friederici, of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig. The same pattern is typical for longer phrases, she said. Volker Dellwo, a hearing and phonetics scientist at University College London, said melody contour was one of the most basic characteristics of language and one that he could imagine babies mimicking. However, other academics were unconvinced by the findings. "Biologists and medical people are always talking rubbish about language because they don't understand it," said Professor John Wells, a linguistics specialist at University College London. "Both German and French use rises and falls, as does English. It's easy to compare syntax and word order but this just sounds too vague." Earlier studies of vocal imitation had shown that infants were able to match vowel sounds spoken to them by adults, but only from 12 weeks onwards. That skill depends on more sophisticated vocal control that is not physically possible much earlier. "Imitation of melody contour is something that they can do immediately after birth," said Professor Wermke. She said that from an evolutionary perspective, newborn babies were probably highly motivated to imitate their mother's behaviour in order to foster bonding. Speech is also one of the few human stimuli that penetrates the womb, where the foetus is otherwise insulated from light, smell and touch. "In the womb, you hear voices as though someone were speaking next door, so rhythm and melody contour are the two things you'd be able to perceive," added Dr Dellwo. Professor Wermke said that the research supported the idea that unborn babies could be soothed by music or a parent's voice. "We've shown that the brain is mature to process basic aspects of language and music, and speech probably is stimulating for the foetus. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it would be harmful if you were too busy to play them Mozart CDs, though," she said. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/biology_evolution/article6905544.ece |
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| jojocircus | Nov 7 2009, 02:13 AM Post #2 |
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I just love these explanations. Newborns are adorable and crying has its purpose, but it sure doesn't make you more likely to bond with the infant. |
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| Racial Reality | Nov 7 2009, 03:27 PM Post #3 |
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Well, crying makes you pick the baby up and hold it. That's bonding. And their point, I guess, is that the language-specific melody of the crying draws the mother even more. |
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| Berserk | Nov 8 2009, 06:25 AM Post #4 |
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The problem here is one that I've noticed much too often. Scientists who are dealing with matters regarding human biology and evolution tend to try and find a survival purpose behind every common human behavior or feature, when that is not always the case. For instance what is the purpose of our having eyebrows or pubic hair or of male pattern baldness? These are probably just useless features that were carried through our genes because they did not harm those who had them physically or inhibit their ability to reproduce. It could very well be the case that newborn babies are imitating the tonal nature of their parents' languages due to having heard it while they were in the womb. No doubt, the human brain is very powerful and is capable of a great deal. However, this mechanism does not have to have any sort of survival purpose like making the babies mother care for it more. Our genes already make us desire to take care of our own children regardless of how they look or whether or not they speak in our tones. |
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| Racial Reality | Nov 8 2009, 03:11 PM Post #5 |
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Yes, the main point of the study is that the baby in the womb hears its mother talking and imitates her "melody contour" in its cries immediately from birth. Previously, it was thought that babies could only do this from the age of 12 weeks. So language development is found to begin much earlier. However, on a separate note, it's been shown that crying in general (whatever "language" it's in) triggers a very specific response in mothers that stimulates caregiving and bonding. The study seems to be speculating based on this finding. [blockquote]"All babies are born with a group of special qualities called attachment-promoting behaviors—features and behaviors designed to alert the caregiver to the baby's presence and draw the caregiver, magnet like, toward the baby. These features are the roundness of baby's eyes, cheeks, and body; the softness of the skin; the relative bigness of baby's eyes; the penetrating gaze; the incredible newborn scent; and, perhaps, most important of all, baby's early language—the cries and precrying noises. "Here's how the early mother-infant communication system works. The opening sounds of the baby's cry activate a mother's emotions. This is physical as well as psychological. Upon hearing her baby cry, a mother experiences an increased blood flow to her breasts, accompanied by the biological urge to pick up and nurse her baby. This is one of the strongest examples of how the biological signals of the baby trigger a biological response in the mother. There is no other signal in the world that sets off such intense responses in a mother as her baby's cry. At no other time in the child's life will language so forcefully stimulate the mother to act. "Picture what happens when babies and mothers room-in together. Baby begins to cry. Mother, because she is there and physically attuned to baby, immediately picks up and feeds her infant. Baby stops crying. When baby again awakens, squirms, grimaces, and then cries, mother responds in the same manner. The next time mother notices her baby's precrying cues. When baby awakens, squirms, and grimaces, mother picks up and feeds baby before he has to cry. She has learned to read her baby's signals and to respond appropriately. After rehearsing this dialogue many times during the hospital stay, mother and baby are working as a team. Baby learns to cue better; mother learns to respond better. As the attachment-promoting cries elicit a hormonal response in the mother, her milk- ejection reflex functions smoothly, and mother and infant are in biological harmony." http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/T101100.asp [/blockquote] |
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| jojocircus | Nov 14 2009, 04:32 PM Post #6 |
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I absolutely believe this is true, but the mother isn't bonding with the baby because the baby is crying, but because she is able to sooth the baby and prevent too much crying. The crying itself might stimulate caregiving, but is detrimental to real emotional bonding. Babies with 'difficult' temperaments who cry all the time despite the best efforts from caregivers are the most difficult to bond with; they are in fact most likely to be neglected or abused. Edited by jojocircus, Nov 14 2009, 04:34 PM.
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| Racial Reality | Nov 15 2009, 03:08 PM Post #7 |
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Well, that article calls crying an "attachment-promoting behavior" and says that it "activates a mother's emotions", triggering a "biological urge to pick up and nurse her baby". I would classify that as bonding. I think babies who fail to respond and can't stop crying have some kind of problem that's the exception, not the rule. |
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