Mother tongue perceived in utero, notions of grammar at 7 months… 5 little-known language prowess in babies

Vulnerability, fragility… These are the words that often come to mind when we talk about the baby’s brain. “An infant’s brain actually contains incredible power. The scientific discoveries of recent years have proven that the evolution between birth and the age of 3 is unlike any other in the life of a human being; It is during this period that nearly 85% of brain growth occurs; a million neural connections per second are formed”, summarizes Nawal Abboub, doctor in congitive sciences from the University of Paris-Cité. The baby will acquire – in a dazzling fashion – one of the most sophisticated cognitive functions: language.

Thus, at the age of 3 months, an infant produces the vowels of its mother tongue. At 5 months, he already knows his first name and at 7 months, he already has notions of… grammar! “ Before his first birthday, the child already understands what people say around him. By his second birthday, he knows enough words to start combining them into a sentence. Learning the complexity of a language is a real feat that requires exceptional skills “In his book, The power of babies, Nawal Abboub shares the most significant (and little-known) cognitive science research on language acquisition. What to remain speechless in front of the superpowers of our cherubim.

They perceive their mother tongue in utero

Contrary to popular belief, a child does not enter language at the age of three; it all actually started a month… before he was born! “Babies are not so isolated in the womb. They hear the beating of the heart, but especially the voice of their mother. Cognitive sciences have taught us that they also perceive the complexity of the mother tongue as well as its musicality in utero”, summarizes Nawal Abboub. In the mother’s womb, the fetus hears the changes in intensity and tone. It is able to make the difference between music and words, between the mother tongue and an unknown language. He also manages to recognize the voice of his mother but also that of the second parent.” Thus, prenatal exposure to voices and languages ​​allows the baby to integrate a stock of linguistic information that he will be able to use and mobilize from birth. That’s why talking to the fetus is not ridiculous and it even helps him learn the music of his mother tongue.”

Depending on the language, the cries of newborn babies differ

An exciting experiment has shown that the melody of a language is already found in the cries of newborn babies. Thus, German babies cry with a descending melody while French newborns do so with a rising musicality. “This experiment shows that the production of sounds is modulated by the mother tongue.” Another study was conducted on the babbling of French, German and Japanese babies aged 7 to 18 months. And they happen not to babble the same way! “This means that babbling has real linguistic meaning. It’s not just a cry or a sound, it’s already the basis of the language that is being built.”

Babies do math

In the collective imagination, babies “do not understand anything” about what they are told. But behind the chubby faces hide real champions of prediction and statistical calculation. “Babies finely analyze our words in order to extract words according to their frequency of appearance. This discovery shows that infants already have modules in them. “ Like small automatic motors that will guide them in learning their language. ” Thanks to these complex calculations, the child will develop very effective strategies to progress in the language. “Capturing the regularities of his language gives him the possibility of anticipating the signal which arrives at him. But above all to be able to learn new words very quickly.”

Kings of “segmentation”

At first, when a baby comes into the world, speech looks like a long signal where the words and sentences have no visible boundaries. “To get an idea, it’s like listening to two people speak in a foreign language. We are lost because we don’t have the beginning or the end of the sentence.” Thus, to find the relevant linguistic units in the stream of words, recent research has shown that the baby will “segment”. Thus, when he spots an elongation or an increase in the tone, he uses it to cut out the sequence. “ The musical clues help him to learn the words in the sentences. This segmentation is essential to his learning and it shows that the baby is not at all passive in the face of language acquisition. He is an actor in his learning and seeks to understand.

learning windows

For a long time, researchers thought that babies learned language through stages or stairs. “In fact, studies have shown that they learn through windows of opportunity that open and then close.” Thus, the window of opportunity to differentiate between all languages ​​closes at around 6 months, the one that allows him to differentiate between all sounds opens between 4 and 12 months and the one that allows him to learn the sound organization is between 12 and 20 months. “This shows that if certain abilities are not stimulated very early, they will be more difficult to acquire. Babies will evolve in their environment and will specialize in their mother tongue. But over time, they will have a decline in sensitivity for a second language.”

> Learn more: The power of babies, by Nawal Abboub. Fayard editions. Price: 19 euros.

In her book “The power of babies”, Nawal Abboub, doctor in cognitive sciences, deciphers the most significant research on the baby’s brain. Photo Pexels.

Talk “with” your child

Several studies confirm that talking “with” your child by asking open-ended questions that begin with “ why”, “how”, “what do you think of…” – by being interested in him and his desires – has beneficial effects on his language. “ Do not hesitate to explain the dangers or prohibitions. It is also necessary to value his efforts in his learning of the language.

Dramatize your speech

Do not hesitate to lengthen the syllables, to put mini-pauses between sentences or to lower or raise the pitch. “Nursery rhymes and songs are also great ways for babies to learn words and syntax.”

give him time

When you ask a baby a question, you have to wait 5 seconds for his answer. “It’s the time it takes for his brain to process information.”