1. omnibrain
  2. Translating baby language

Translating baby language

By omnibrain on March 8, 2007.

i-322c729cb1e8fb4138a953a81c7191d0-Simpsons_8F23.pngIf you remember from the Simpson's episode, Brother can you spare two dimes, Homer's brother Herb invents a device to translate baby language. Now it looks like some Australian mother is claiming to have figured out baby speech. Shouldn't the Simpson's get a patent or something? Perhaps get a cut of the profits here!?

A newly discovered baby language is helping infants sleep through the night and mothers bond with their babies. After eight years of research, Australian mother Priscilla Dunstan says she has discovered a universal baby language, comprised of five distinct sounds. Dunstan says babies produce the different sounds depending on their needs. 'Neh' means the child is hungry, while 'owh' indicates he or she is tired. Other sounds include 'eh', 'eairh' and 'heh', which mean the infant needs burping, has wind or is uncomfortable.

Dunstan says babies make these sounds during the "pre-cry stage" - before they start crying hysterically - thus, parents who learn to identify the noises should be able to reduce the frequency of screaming outbursts. Dunstan, who has always had a sharp listening skills, identified the five key sounds after spending hours listening to her own son and other infants.

Seriously... is there any truth in this? I know next to nothing about language.
Maybe this only applies to Australian babies ;)

Here's the source.

(from the old blog)

Tags
Psychology

More like this

A Cry Is Just A Cry
Every parent knows the frustration of responding to a baby's cries. Are they hungry? Wet? In pain? Need a hug? Tired? According to Dunstan Baby Language, you can interpret these cries with confidence, reducing your stress and making you a better parent. Really? According to their website: The…
My Darwinian Daughters
My wife and I have two lovely daughters: Charlotte is two and a half, and Veronica is seven weeks. And we are tired. We think of ourselves as being on the losing end of a tag-team wrestling match--particularly at about seven in the morning, after Veronica has gone through a few hours of pre-dawn…
Sex and The Science Baby
A breakthrough infant formula for babies 0 to 12 months * The first infant formula with BIFIDUS Bâ¢--beneficial cultures like those found in breastmilk to help support Baby's healthy immune system1 * Gentle 100% whey COMFORT PROTEINS® designed to be easy to digest * Complete nutrition in a milk-…
Would you give your baby someone else's breast milk?
"Wet nursing," or the practice of allowing a woman other than the mother of a child to provide milk to an infant, has been practiced for millenia. Two hundred years ago, wet nursing was common for a variety of reasons. Upper-class families could hire a wet nurse to enable the mother to more…

Here's what Language Log had to say about it.

Before I check out the link, I am going to weigh in and say that it sounds like a giant load of steaming poo. Whatever a load of poo sounds like. I'll bet it's a pre-cry sound.