Babbling

Every normally-developing child (and for that matter the overwhelming majority of delayed-developing children) acquire the language to which they are exposed. Language cannot develop without exposure to it. It matters not whether this language is spoken or signed. (cf. Laura Ann Petitto, "On the Biological Foundations of Human Language," inThe signs of language revisited, 2000.) What matters really is the ability of the child to abstract repeatable symbols from a mass of input. In simplified terms, they have to identify the individual elements, such as letters or handshapes, that combine to make up words.

Children, whether speaking or signing, go through a stage of babbling, essentially experimenting with their mouths or hands to form a battery of possibly meaningful symbols. Interestingly, an infant normally produces symbols that go beyond the signs permissible in the language to which they are exposed. Think of getting a new radio, with a variety of dials, knobs, and switches. We tweak them all, producing novel configurations. Sometimes the result is a well-defined signal, sometimes mere static. Babbling is like tweaking the dials, knobs, and switches of the child's language producing apparatus.

The task for an infant is to figure out how to focus their attention, as well as how to approximate and imitate the elements of language. This is no mean task. In the child's biological favor is a specially-evolved ability to select out certain types of information. For instance, researchers in Canada have identified selective neuron activity, which occurs only in the presence of human vocal sounds. See Belin, et al., “Voice-selective areas in human auditory cortex,” Nature 43 (20 January 2000): 309-312. An interesting question (so far unanswered) would be if there is similar brain activity involved in the processing of human hand gestures.

How does this translate practically for us as parents? We are in a unique position as the principal producers of input in our children's early lives, the most flexible and perhaps most critical stage in their brains' development. If an infant is tasked with observing repeatable patterns, we can assist them by directing our production to this task. I will give some ideas from spoken language, but this can be modified for sign as well.

Here is a simple, but powerful exercise you can engage in. In a calm moment, preferably several times a day, spend a few minutes repeating a syllable, then varying it. For instance: ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba da-da-da-da-da-da-da; si-si-si-si-si-si-si-si-si so-so-so-so-so-so-so-so.

In linguistic terms, these are what are called minimal pairs, two related units that ostensibly vary only along one dimension. But language is complex. For instance, one difference between writing and speech is that every spoken utterance includes pitch and timing, both of which are absent from the written version. So, we can vary this element as well. For example, present a syllable on a consistently low pitch ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-ku, then vary it by repeating the same syllable on a high pitch ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-ku. Or modify the pitch as falling the first time, then rising in the repeats.

The more patience you have in repeating, then varying, returning to the original, then the variation, and on, the more you will assist your child in identifying the aspects to which you wish to draw their attention. Speak slowly and clearly, but naturally, and learn to observe the subtle and mostly unconscious variation that you normally produce. Don't try to speak like a computer. We want your child to learn to be human, not robotic. The subtle variants that emerge, for instance what linguists refer to as allophones, teach a child which features are transmutable and which are sacred in a given linguistic culture; that is, from the variation, they learn to identify similarity, a crucial developmental task.

Remember my comment above about the infant normally producing symbols outside their native language. We can take advantage of this as well. If you are adept at accents, try producing the syllables with different accents. As you go along, if you get bored with the simple syllables, come up with more complex sounds stra-stra-stra-stra ftra-ftra-ftra-ftra suplu-suplu-suplu-suplu-suplu guflu-guflu-guflu-guflu. Or you can present the simple repetitions for a few minutes, then a string of words that incorporate those same sounds go-go-go-go-go no-no-no-no-no gopher-going-ghost-goat noble-knowing-notebook-nope.

If you wish to expose your children to more than one language, repeat the exercise for each one. Some may say that you should work not to confuse the child. For instance, in some bilingual households, one parent speaks one language to the children, and the other the second. I'm not sure I subscribe to the strongest prohibitions in this regard, but to be safe, try not mixing the languages when you speak, as in "I have un poisson" or "Yo creo que daddy is home".

In general, the rule is find patterns; repeat patterns. Patterns will be a recurring theme in this blog.