The abc of baby language

By speaking to the child and imitating the child’s sounds, a parent not only teaches the child sound patterns, but encourages taking turns, a process necessary for conversation. Studies have shown that babies whose parents spoke to them more often know many more words by age two.

Children who are unable to communicate effectively through language or to use language as a basis for further learning are handicapped socially, educationally and. as a consequence, emotionally.’— Byers-Brown & Edwards.

Language is an important aspect of culture. It is through language that we are able to communicate and understand one another in day to day living.

Currently, a lot of focus is placed on the baby learning second or third international languages as opposed to their native one. The ability to speak fluent English or other foreign languages is the ultimate dream.

So, does language matter when raising a baby? Does it matter that there are so many languages spoken when the baby is growing up, that it may affect their wit in picking tongues? These are among the major questions parents need to answer in relation to how the early days may affect a baby’s language in the later years.

The Earlier the Better
Phyllis, a mother of one, says that her two-year-old son understands and speaks, albeit tryingly, both Kiswahili and her mother tongue—Kisii. She attributes this to the effort she made from pregnancy till birth. ‘I always spoke with him when he was in the womb.’

Then after birth, we still talked, even when all he could do was smile. I knew I was building a foundation for him to express himself. Not only in one language. I want him to speak as many languages as possible.

Babies have been known to display remarkable language learning abilities. Indeed, the earliest months and years are the most important in a child’s development. In those early stages of life, they already possess the ability to differentiate speech sounds, whether or not they are sounds that are used in the language the baby is learning.

Therefore, the sooner children hear language, the sooner they begin to understand and use words. Peter Wamocho, the director of Laiser Institute based in Ongata Rongai agrees that holistic development is necessary when a baby is growing. Thus the reason he introduced Early Child Development (ECD) as a learning unit in the institute. He says,  ‘ECD is one of the crucial subjects we offer.’

Mr. Wamocho encourages frequent visits to the village where a native language is used. He reckons that it is of importance to have a growing baby exposed to different environments which contributes a lot to a child’s language development.

Research shows that an infant is able to respond to sound 10 weeks before birth, learning the mother’s voice and the sound pattern of the language she speaks before the baby is born.

Mother’s voice
A baby takes comfort in hearing his mother’s voice. Therefore, a mother’s lullaby can be very calming, especially if she sang to the baby during pregnancy.

The development of language is largely influenced by parent-child interactions. In the first year, it is important to talk, sing and read to the baby often so he can learn the sounds of his native language. In this effort, you will learn that babies like to mimic what they hear.

By speaking to the child and imitating the child’s sounds, a parent not only teaches the child sound patterns, but encourages taking turns, a process necessary for conversation. Studies have shown that babies whose parents spoke to them more often know many more words by age two.

How do they learn?
The development of communication through language is an instinctive process. Children begin the process naturally. How they learn a language is not entirely clear. It is believed that they do it by listening to and trying to communicate with adult speakers. Thus, parents should be in a position to provide the means of learning language by various ways, above all talking to the baby.

Learning a second language
In a recent trip to Japan, Mbundeh, a father of one, was pleasantly surprised. His Japanese hosts were amazed at his ability to speak so many languages. ‘They were surprised I could speak English, Swahili and my native language. I was even learning Japanese so quickly.’

There are cultures that rarely take interest in learning foreign languages. These closed cultures thence make it really difficult for someone to learn a second language. But of importance is to know that learning a second or third language is easier in early childhood than later.

Speaking two languages
Children growing up in bilingual homes often speak both languages fluently. Hearing two languages spoken at home is an advantage to a baby. If he hears two languages from birth, he will maintain the ability to hear the sounds of both and be able to speak each language.

In three to seven months, a baby begins to understand a second language. After about two years he is able to carry on a fluent conversation in each.

Helping a baby build self confidence during the time of learning a second language is very important. Music is a great way to help in learning words and phrases in a new language. Talking slowly and clearly is also helpful.

Speak in native language
It is important for parents to speak to a baby at home in their native language. This lays the foundation for the second language by providing the basic rules of communication. If the parents speak less to the child in an attempt to use the second language, the parent-child interaction is likely to suffer.

Delays in speech articulations
At two years, Nat’s son can only utter one word, ‘sasa.’ making it sound ‘thatha.’ This has made her worried. She says. ‘He speaks as though his tongue is heavy. I am still holding on to the hope that he will be able to talk soon.’

Some babies do not talk until their second birthday; they instead choose to use gestures and sounds. If your baby is preoccupied with learning to walk, he may push talking to the back burner which is not unusual, thus nothing to be alarmed about.

Delays in language can have a variety of sources. When parents suspect such delays they are advised to consult a qualified expert.

Repeated ear infections in the first few years delay expressive language. It is always important to watch for signs of ear infections in a young child, like not responding to sound, pulling one’s ears, reluctance to suckle and having an upper respiratory infection.

Multiple languages
As a baby hears people speak a certain language, the brain strengthens connections for that language. Repetition helps them learn to understand speech and strengthens the language connections in the brain too.

If you want your baby to learn multiple languages, start early. There are various ways to do this:

You could hire a house-help who is fluent in an extra language, introduce a kindergarten teacher fluent in another, speak to him in another and let your spouse use yet another language while speaking to him. No do not worry, this will not confuse baby. It is at this time that his window of opportunity of learning various languages is open.

Who knows, you could be raising a multilingual world genius!

END:BL16/70-71

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