Newborn’s Cries Mimic Mama’s Accent

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Babies pick up their parents' accents while still in the womb, according to a new study. After studying the crying patterns of 30 French and 30 German newborns, researchers concluded that the French newborns cried with a rising "accent" while the German babies' cries had a falling inflection [BBC News]. The researchers believe that by mimicking their mothers' inflections, the babies are attempting to form an early bond with their mothers. Scientists already knew that a baby in the womb can memorize sounds from the outside world, and is particularly sensitive to the melodies of her mother's language. But the new research showed an "extremely early" impact of native language and confirmed that babies' cries are their first proper attempts to communicate specifically with their mothers [Reuters]. The data support the idea that crying seeds language development for infants, according to the scientists, who published their research in the journal Current Biology.

To hear the different between German and French crying babies for yourself, click here to listen.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/...c-mamas-accent/

[rebeccajo 14]

LOL........that's pretty cool!

[Niels Bohr 72]

Weird. Why don't I have the same accent as my mom? Did these scientists ever travel the world?

[alienlovechild 75]

Weird. Why don't I have the same accent as my mom? Did these scientists ever travel the world?

Only applies to babies I guess. Our baby is going to cry in Cebuano.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Weird. Why don't I have the same accent as my mom? Did these scientists ever travel the world?

Only applies to babies I guess. Our baby is going to cry in Cebuano.

Our 19 mo. old says 'bobby' for the word baby.

[rebeccajo 14]

I always have enjoyed listening to Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man.

McCourt was born in the US to Irish parents and returned to Ireland when he was four or five. In his own words in 'Ashes' he says he was teased for sounding like a 'yank' when he arrived back in Limerick, but that he and his brothers quickly picked the Limerick accent back up.

McCourt then returned to the US at age 19. He spent most of his adult life in the US.

I've always thought his accent was a strange mix of Irish and American. You can listen to him reading from the book here:

Edited November 8, 2009 by rebeccajo

[AlHayatZween 2]

Oh sh*t...

this is going to be interesting...

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I always have enjoyed listening to Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man.

McCourt was born in the US to Irish parents and returned to Ireland when he was four or five. In his own words in 'Ashes' he says he was teased for sounding like a 'yank' when he arrived back in Limerick, but that he and his brothers quickly picked the Limerick accent back up.

McCourt then returned to the US at age 19. He spent most of his adult life in the US.

I've always thought his accent was a strange mix of Irish and American. You can listen to him reading from the book here:

How lucky the students were to have him as their teacher.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

LOL........that's pretty cool!

indeed

[Nessa 23]

cool