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150 Comments
- lekahe, on 08/27/2008, -1/+90Hmmm... In Finnish the words are "äiti" and "isä" which are far from the researchers suggestion.
I think they are just words which are constantly repeated to the child!!
I often wonder if the researchers have run out of important things to study! - 1forallallfor1, on 08/28/2008, -0/+48Try saying "papa" or "mama" or "baba." Seriously, try it.
Notice how you can say them using just your lips? There's no need for extreme tongue dexterity!
Babies have lots of experience using their lips (due to suckling reflex) when they're breastfeeding. I think this has something to do with it. - benologist, on 08/28/2008, -0/+37I propose a study to determine if researchers have run out of important things to study.
- HappyDonut, on 08/28/2008, -1/+32Oh, so it's not the constant repetition of "MOMMY" *makes obnoxious pointing gestures and faces, "and DADDY" *makes obnoxious pointing gestures and faces.*
- wreckosaurus, on 08/27/2008, -4/+27my first words were "burger king," surprisingly I'm not fat.
- novemberdream07, on 08/28/2008, -0/+19my first word was cat, they thought i was smart because there happened to be a cat in the room, then i called everything i saw cat and that blew that hope to smithereens
- Spartanious, on 08/28/2008, -1/+19my first word was "die". Russian translation -- "give"
- slayernine, on 08/28/2008, -1/+19I still haven't spoken a single word.
- bananasluggy, on 08/28/2008, -2/+18My first word was "mamadada." :D
- kalleanka, on 08/28/2008, -0/+15The fact that mom and dad always say "say mommy" and "say daddy" 10 times a day to a baby might also affect the chance of the baby having one of these words as the first word.
- dougrhy, on 08/27/2008, -2/+16My baby brother's first words were Dougy. I think it is about repetition and a tone of voice which connotes approval. Western parents show enthusiasm and approval when they hear the "L" sound in a baby's babble, but Japanese parents do not. In Japan the child's ability to say the "L" sound is extinguished. And I suppose the !Kung people must encourage the glottal click sound whenever their child stumbles upon it.
- fieldhockey44, on 08/28/2008, -0/+13One reason that we find so many languages where a word for 'mother' begins with an 'm' sound has to do with a baby's breathing pattern. Babies actually are born with a fold of skin that separates the nasal passages from the mouth, allowing them to breathe while swallowing. This means that while nursing, a baby is able to breathe continuously. We often find that while a baby is nursing, when it exhales it voices the sound coming out its nose, sort of like a hum, making an 'm' noise. Babies later associate this sound with nursing and therefore their mothers, so when they are learning words for their mother, the 'm' noise seems to them to be a natural choice.
- OrangeSoda31, on 08/28/2008, -1/+13My first word was "FIRST!!11!"
- Broodax, on 08/28/2008, -1/+11Yes, those are mother and father, but mama and papa are "haha" and "chichi."
- inactive, on 08/28/2008, -1/+10my first words went something like
"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May" - Myztry, on 08/28/2008, -0/+9Parrots have the ability to 'parrot' words repetatively said to them, and at a much earlier age then humans.
Then again, many parrots can also vocalise sounds such as chain saws, which humans can't really do at any age. - ashes0, on 08/28/2008, -3/+12Noseless freak.
- TonyTheTerrible, on 08/28/2008, -0/+9Oh livescience, how you promise us everything and deliver nothing.
- LordVance, on 08/28/2008, -0/+9The trick is to say "dada" in a really happy, comforting voice - and then emulate the devil and scare the ever loving ***** out of your child when you say mama.
- MacBookForMe, on 08/27/2008, -3/+12You are so right Lenna...huge lack of common sense in some modern research directions...the only important thing is how to get a 'celebrity scientist':)...still very nice to hear those words, if you are a parent, though
- trogdoor, on 08/28/2008, -0/+8The repositioning of the larynx that makes humans no longer able to swallow and breathe at the same time also happens to be crucial to humans' ability to speak. I'd say that it's a pretty good trade off.
- diulei, on 08/28/2008, -1/+9But there is also "haha" (mom) and "chichi" (dad) which would somewhat support this research.
- dvsbastard, on 08/28/2008, -1/+8My first word was "boobs"!
(Well only on a technicality as "mama" translates to "breast" in Portuguese... Although it does make sense when you are being breastfed!) - NomortaL1, on 08/28/2008, -0/+7probably a baby's first word is "a"
i mean its not hard to pronounce... and its a word. - Stavrosian, on 08/28/2008, -0/+7Every time I see my godson I bombard him with "say donkey-raping-*****-eater." His mother hates me, for some reason.
- Shiftgood, on 08/28/2008, -0/+7uhh... mummy, mommy, muhmuh, mama...da da. dadee deeda.
Its just baby babble that we turned into words. The babies made the most simple noise they could and we assigned that random noise a meaning. - civilizedevil, on 08/28/2008, -2/+8"To arrive at this finding, brain scans were made of 22 newborns..."
"Brain activity increased in the babies' temporal and left frontal areas whenever the repetitious words were played."
We needed a scientific study and brain scans to reach this conclusion? I always thought this was pretty freaking obvious. - slamtv7, on 08/28/2008, -0/+6shemale?
- cryonix, on 08/28/2008, -0/+6I was always told mine was "Fluffer-bye" as in butterfly. But my mom smoked a lot of pot when I was a kid so I'm not sure what to trust, her memory, or me as a stoned toddler tripping, seeing "Fluffer-Bye's".
I turned out fine by the way. - WalkerTXclocker, on 08/28/2008, -0/+6What a coincidence, it means food to an American baby too.
- Taiyoryu, on 08/28/2008, -0/+6not much has changed since then, I'd bet
- xptoast, on 08/28/2008, -0/+5whoaw...something is wrong with this one...
- wyrdness, on 08/28/2008, -0/+5I've got a two month old baby. I keep saying to him, "Say dada, dada. Your first word must be dada. Don't say mama. You're not to say mama. Dada, not mama. Definitely not mama! Dada, got that?"
So I'm teaching him both words, whilst simultaneously annoying my wife ;-) - Gizza, on 08/28/2008, -1/+6OK, well that just raises the question... why did evolution see fit to remove that ability when we get older? Sounds useful to me.
- vanguardanon, on 08/28/2008, -0/+5My son has speech apraxia so even at 5 years old he has a hard time. When you're around a little guy like that all the time it's easy to see what's hard and what's easy. The researchers are right. First simple things like "Ma", "Pa", or "Da" come along. Then they repeat it like, "dada", "baba", etc.
A word like "acrobat" or "cannibal" is really tough because of all the gymnastics your tongue has to do to create it. As for the research being important, well it's really important to my family. - Elliuotatar, on 08/28/2008, -0/+5Chichi is DAD?
Why was Goku's wife named DAD? - sunkist22, on 08/28/2008, -0/+4From personal experience, we say those words to our babies, hoping they will say them back. I point to myself and say 'Mama' or 'Mommy' and point to my husband and say 'Dada' or 'Daddy'. Its a very good feeling when they are first able to say it. The best way for them to learn words is to repeat them. Wether its their favorite food, or the cat's name etc... just makes sense. Can I get paid to be a 'researcher' too? :)
- middy, on 08/28/2008, -0/+4My first word was "between." Go figure.
- rodrigo74, on 08/28/2008, -0/+4My first word was "conceivability", but then again, I was already 12.
- zer0nix, on 08/28/2008, -0/+4tone markers... it's probably not the same pronunciation of chichi, hence not the same word.
-course i'm only guessing at that. i too would like to know what 'chichi' means since 90s anime character names are notorious for being off the wall. - PolicePeople, on 08/28/2008, -0/+4my first word was "geek." guess i was doomed from the start.
- CrimsonBlur, on 08/28/2008, -0/+4If you win, the prize will probably be a week on the couch. If you're lucky.
- KingGorilla, on 08/28/2008, -0/+4When I have a child I would like to hold a competition with my wife over which word our child will say first. "Daddy" first, I win. "Mommy" she wins. I haven't figured out what the prize will be.
- inactive, on 08/28/2008, -0/+4My Grandad's last words were "LEMONPARTY!"
- chewy5000, on 08/28/2008, -0/+4Mine: ***** THE RIAA
- zerhynn, on 08/28/2008, -0/+3Isn't it inferior? Burping children comes to mind.
- inactive, on 08/28/2008, -1/+4paging Dr Freud...Paging Dr. Freud....
- zcreem, on 08/28/2008, -2/+5That makes any sense.
- djchester, on 08/28/2008, -0/+3hmm.. brain scans on parents have not proven this to be a fact. Maybe you should try to prove your thesis? ;)
- inactive, on 08/28/2008, -0/+3would that be actually saying "W" "T" "F" or would that be what the *****?
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