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04/02/2005:

"'Baby Talk' May Help Infants Learn Language"

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - That special tone of voice adults use with babies may be an important part of how infants learn language, a new study suggests.

Researchers have long suspected that "baby talk, "with its short sentences, slow pace and sing-song tone, helps infants start to distinguish words from other sounds. Direct evidence, however, has been lacking, and not particularly easy to get.

But in the new study, published in the journal Infancy, researchers found that the typical intonation of baby talk, with its swooping changes in pitch from word to word, seems to help babies begin to recognize where words begin and end.

Though it's not certain why this is, it's likely that a sing-song tone captures babies' attention better than the more monotone manner adults use with each other, according to lead author Erik D. Thiessen, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Full Article: news.yahoo.com

Music and poetry seem to me among the most ancient and finest characteristics of distinctly human beings, and a potent counterforce to violence and aggression. Play as a Precursor of Phonology and Syntax"> by anthropologist Chris Knight is a good essay that explores the ancient roots of human language.