Crying in Tongues
Interesting research has just come to light from Germany, where scientists found that babies cry with accents. The cries of sixty French and German newborns, who were all within three to five days of life, were analyzed by researchers. They found that the babies cried in the mother’s tongue.
The French newborns cried with a rising “accent” while the German babies’ cries had a falling inflection.
Writing in the journal Current Biology, they say the babies are probably trying to form a bond with their mothers by imitating them.
The findings suggest that unborn babies are influenced by the sound of the first language that penetrates the womb.
Very cool stuff.
Steven Said,
November 6, 2009 @ 2:43 pm
My son and I heard about this on the way to school this morning. We had some fun with it… French babies crying “le wah! le wah!”
Dave Orr Said,
November 6, 2009 @ 3:44 pm
If you’re interested in this, here’s an interesting analysis of it from the language log guys.
They turn out to be a little skeptical about it, but their discussion of it is fascinating.