German researchers, lead by Kathleen Wermke from the University of Wurzburg have discovered that babies may be picking up with mother’s accents while still in the womb. They studied 60 babies whose mothers spoke French and German. When the babies were still newborns, the French speaking mother had a baby who cried with a rising accent, while the German speaking mother’s baby cried with a falling accent.
Wermke believes the babies are crying in the same pattern as their mother’s speech pattern in an attempt to bond. “Newborns are highly motivated to imitate their mother’s behavior in order to attract her and hence to foster bonding. Because melody contour may be the only aspect of their mother’s speech that newborns are able to imitate, this might explain why we found melody contour imitation at that early age” Wermke states.
Scientists already knew that babies were able to hear during their last trimester, which is why a newborn can easily recognize their mother’s voice. This research shows that they can not only hear but interpret what is being heard. Although babies are unable to create letter sounds, they are able to mimic the melody through their cries.
More research is being done to see if the difference in parenting alters the results. If a German family allows their baby to cry longer before picking them up, it could effect the results. Each country may parent differently, which needs to be taken into consideration.
Comments
Translation Chicago
November 7th, 2009 - 1:46:21 AM
This is an amazing discovery. This only proves that they can hear us even while they are still in their mother's womb. Then it is really true that we can read them good books and let them listen to good music even before they are born. Thank you for this post.