Is Baby Talk The Universal Language?

Study Suggests People Of Different Cultures, Languages Understand Baby Talk

(WebMD)  Baby talk may be the universal language.

A new study suggests that people of different cultures recognize baby talk, even if they speak a different language.

The results showed indigenous Shuar speakers who had also been taught Spanish in a remote Ecuadoran village were able to distinguish English baby-directed talk from normal adult-directed talk three-fourths of the time. They were also able to determine the tone of the conversation, such as disapproval or comfort, with greater ease when baby talk was spoken.

Researchers Greg Bryant and Clark Barrett, of University of California, Los Angeles, say the findings show that the relationship between sounds and intentions is universal because much of the meaning of language is communicated through nonverbal cues, such as pitch, loudness, and rate of speech.

For example, when people talk to infants, regardless of the language they speak, they tend to raise their voices to get the baby's attention and speak
much slower to get their point across — what most people call baby talk and researchers call "infant-directed speech."

Baby Talk Universal

In the study, published in Psychological Science, researchers recorded native English-speaking mothers speaking as if they were talking to their infant or to another adult. The tone of the talk was one of four general categories: prohibitive (such as "Don't touch that!"), approval, comfort, or attention.

They played the tapes to a group of young adults in a remote Shuar village of hunter-horticulturalists in Ecuador to determine whether the non-English speakers could tell the difference between the categories in both types of
speech.

The study showed that the non-English speakers were able to correctly
identify baby-directed talk 75 percent of the time. They were also able to determine what the general tone of the conversation was, such as whether it was one of approval or prohibition, with much greater accuracy when the speaker spoke in baby-directed talk rather than in adult-directed talk.

Researchers say it's the first study to show that adults of different cultures, languages, and societies can easily tell the difference between baby talk and adult talk.

Do you understand your baby's babbling? What sounds does your baby make? Talk about it on WebMD's Parents: 9-12 Months message board.




By Jennifer Warner
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Add a Comment See all 11 Comments

by grammawhamma August 22, 2007 5:09 PM PDT

What a whittle dumb dumb study this was.

Reply to this comment

by ameris69 August 22, 2007 6:16 PM PDT

From the comment above. i think that this was a good study. i just really dont think that people can understand baby talk.

Reply to this comment

by incog-nito August 22, 2007 7:28 PM PDT

This is great news! Now we can all communicate with each other using baby talk, without having to learn a new language.

Reply to this comment

by gretagreen August 22, 2007 7:46 PM PDT

I agree with Gramma.

Reply to this comment

by dukeudevil August 22, 2007 8:43 PM PDT

Good and interesting science is clearly lost on the ignorant and uneducated.

Reply to this comment

by incog-nito August 22, 2007 10:15 PM PDT

Clearly, the ignorant and uneducated are easily wowed by junk science.

Reply to this comment

by canyoutellme-2009 August 23, 2007 1:38 PM PDT

"Researchers say it''s the first study to show that adults of different cultures, languages, and societies can easily tell the difference between baby talk and adult talk."

uh.. DUH? So I can tell the difference between when a baby says "ga ga goo goo" and when an adult says "yo, whassappenin''" ??

Gee, how much $$ was spent on THIS study?

Reply to this comment

by nota_bene-2009 August 23, 2007 11:25 PM PDT

Baby talk means talking to babies, not babies talking. Before you criticize, maybe you should read and understand the article - then there is less of a chance you look like a fool.

Reply to this comment

by rosyturtle August 23, 2007 11:43 PM PDT

yeah, no kiddin''. did some of you even read the article? sheesh.

Reply to this comment

by michellem99-2009 August 25, 2007 4:09 PM PDT

Grammma dear yer right. I read it. The tone is the key. They can learn by reading the voice. I don''t use baby talk . Yet the child knows the message by the tone of voice. I know more by hearing the voice..child and adult.

Reply to this comment

by nota_bene-2009 August 25, 2007 6:16 PM PDT

The study is about tone of voice, not special baby words. If you use special tones with your baby, that''s "baby talk" as defined by these researchers.

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[grammawhamma]

What a whittle dumb dumb study this was.

[ameris69]

From the comment above. i think that this was a good study. i just really dont think that people can understand baby talk.

[incog-nito]

This is great news! Now we can all communicate with each other using baby talk, without having to learn a new language.

[gretagreen]

I agree with Gramma.

[dukeudevil]

Good and interesting science is clearly lost on the ignorant and uneducated.

[incog-nito]

Clearly, the ignorant and uneducated are easily wowed by junk science.

[canyoutellme-2009]

"Researchers say it''s the first study to show that adults of different cultures, languages, and societies can easily tell the difference between baby talk and adult talk."

uh.. DUH? So I can tell the difference between when a baby says "ga ga goo goo" and when an adult says "yo, whassappenin''" ??

Gee, how much $$ was spent on THIS study?

[nota_bene-2009]

Baby talk means talking to babies, not babies talking. Before you criticize, maybe you should read and understand the article - then there is less of a chance you look like a fool.

[rosyturtle]

yeah, no kiddin''. did some of you even read the article? sheesh.

[michellem99-2009]

Grammma dear yer right. I read it. The tone is the key. They can learn by reading the voice. I don''t use baby talk . Yet the child knows the message by the tone of voice. I know more by hearing the voice..child and adult.

[nota_bene-2009]

The study is about tone of voice, not special baby words. If you use special tones with your baby, that''s "baby talk" as defined by these researchers.