Don't all crying babies sound alike? Annoying??
It seems that those ear-splitting screams and coos can be a different melodies that are similar to the language that they were exposed to in womb during their last trimester. A new study published today online in Cell Biology suggests that a baby's cries are indicative of elements of the language they picked up and is part of language development.
It turns out that newborns are able to distinguish between different languages and pitch changes by relying on the melody. Fetuses are able to memorize sounds heard from the last trimester. As expected, newborns prefer their mother's voice over all other voices and can "perceive emotional content of messages" as conveyed through tone and pitch.
Thirty French and 30 German babies, 3-5 days old had their cries analyzed. It turned out the infants' cries were melodically different based on the language they were exposed to. Although earlier studies showed that infants can match vowel sounds from adult speakers when they are 12 weeks old, this type of control is not physically possible earlier. Infants may only be able imitate the melody of the ambient language which is theorized as a way for them to bond to their mothers.
Cell Press (2009, November 5). Babies' Language Learning Starts From The Womb.ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 5, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105092607.htm
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