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Article: Out of the mouths of babes: unlocking the mysteries of language and voice.(Revolutionary studies in child psychology)
- Article from:
- Camping Magazine
- Article date:
- May 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 American Camping Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words Of thy tongue's uttering, yet I know the sound.
William Shakespeare
BIG Questions
Children learn language not by rote, but by a seemingly effortless interaction between their sponge-like brains and their language-rich environments. This breathtaking process begins as rapidly as Juliet learned to recognize Romeo's voice.
A birth, babies show a preference for language over other sounds, and after a few weeks, they can distinguish sounds of their native language from those of a foreign one. Normally developing babies utter their first words between nine and eighteen months, and by age four, most ...