We Learn to Communicate before We’re Born

Apparently, I’ve been preparing for my career in communications since before I was born.

A new study (via Neatorama) reveals that humans begin to learn their native language in the womb. Comparisons between babies a few days old in France and Germany reveal that newborns cry — the earliest form of human communications — in their native language.

Led by Kathleen Wermke of the University of Würzburg’s Center for Prespeech Development and Developmental Disorders, a team of scientists found that fetuses are not only become familiar with the sound of their mother’s voice in the womb, they’re also learning some important communications patterns inherent in their native tongue.

French newborns, for example, tend to cry with a rising melody, whereas German newborns prefer a falling melody. Those patterns are consistent with characteristic differences between the two languages, according to Wermke. (While French children call for “Papá,” German kids want their “Pápa.”)