A survey conducted by Campaign for Better Hearing among two thousand adults found that hearing the first word of our children is one of the most exciting moments of life, at the level of getting married and having a baby.
Today we will remember and remember a milestone in the growth of our babies: when they speak their first words and begin in this world of verbal communication, even if they really knew how to communicate long before. Do you remember what your baby's first word was?
First universal words
The baby's first words are usually very similar in terms of structure and phonetics, and even in this regard there are studies that suggest that the baby's first words are universal.
Since the baby's brain structure is more prepared to recognize certain patterns (for example, the repetition of syllables), it is very likely that many of the infant's first words constitute repeated syllables. "Dad" and "mom" in Spanish, "daddy" and "mommy" in English, "tata", grandfather in Italian, and other words of similar structures in other languages, are often the first words of a baby.
Physiologically, the human phonation apparatus produces certain sounds more easily, so it is unlikely that a baby will introduce the sound "r" or "z" in its first words, however there is a high probability that they will carry a "p", " m "or" g ", for example.
When do they pronounce the first word? Each child has their own learning rhythm, but we can distinguish the intentional babbling, which occurs after the sixth month of life and tries to reproduce the sounds they hear, without understanding them, from the first words.
The first words usually appear around the first year: they have learned since sounds have meaning and begin to use them to communicate.
What are usually the baby's first words?
The first words of a baby usually refer to objects or people who point the finger or look to refer to him. As we have pointed out, they are usually reduplicated monosyllables ("mom", "dad", "tata"; these words-repetition, according to the theory of universal words would not carry a meaning associated with the principle) and onomatopoeic words, that is, they designate the objects by the noise they make (guauguau = "dog").
The first consonant phonemes that babies learn to pronounce (/ m /, / p /, / b /, / t /, / d /, / l /, / n /), combined with vowels, are what give us The first words.
These first words, which are usually nouns, respond to affective states and have a broader meaning than mere reference. The first "referential words", yes they make reference to a reality, pointing it out, asking for it ... (mom, water, tit ...).
And is that in this stage of language development babies use words, fundamentally, to ask for something that meets their needs, to claim adult attention because they lack something.
The first nouns of the child's speech refer to the objects in their environment: general (food, clothing, etc.) and specific names (family people).
First curious words
However, the theory of universal words does not seem to occur in all children. There are children who inaugurate their communication with much more curious words and that instead of the typical "mom" or "dad" say words referring to situations, moods or objects that attract attention, or a drawing or have seen in some Book, for example.
We have compiled some curious first words:
"The oldest loved the word "owl" and it was his first word outside the basics. "- Eva.
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"The first meaningful word (being aware that I was saying it) that my son said was "tree". The second tractor Dad came first, two months before Mom. "- Arantxa.
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"One did say" mama "," papa "" tato ", but the other, who was very greedy, said" ma "to give him more food when he was with the mash so his first word was "plus".- Chloe.
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"After the classic" mom "(first) and" dad ", my daughter's first word was "beautiful", maybe because we repeated it to her a lot ".- Lucia.
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"My daughter said "mor" before dad and mom, we eventually understood that it was "love" .- Maria.
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The first was "Water", the second "light" .- Jesus.
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"Lucia's first word was "Hello". Whenever I returned from work I greeted him with great joy saying "helloaaaaa" and one day he returned it to me. I went crazy with emotion. Then came "mom" and I think then "bam", who used it to refer to the car, as she imitated the sound it makes when igniting or accelerating. "-Lucy.
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"In my case, the two boys started saying the universal words, but the girl was more special in that regard. The first word she started saying was "elder brother", to refer to his brother. At first we did not know what it meant, because I repeated it constantly, until one day I realized the association. And another of his first words was "coconut", to refer to a stuffed horse that has always been its object of attachment. "- Silvia.
You, Do you remember what the baby's first words were? Any original word in the room? What we sure do all remember is the illusion (and desire) that they said their first "mom" or "dad", whether this was the first word or not.
Photos | iStockphoto, Pexels
In Babies and more | The first words: How and when do they start talking? Language development in the child: from one to two years old, Starting to talk, Talking to the baby in the same language, The speech we talk to babies is adequate to favor language development
