• Question: when babies talk to each other do they understand each other and we are the ones that don't understand them yet?

    Asked by sinclair to Nayeli on 13 Sep 2017.
    • Photo: Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez

      Nayeli Gonzalez-Gomez answered on 13 Sep 2017:


      That’s a very good question. The answer would be yes and no. There are some studies showing that babies are able to have “conversation” like interactions and even to make each other laugh, which seems to indicate that they can “communicate” with them. In that sense, they are able to understand each other. However, if we think that, in order to understand each other, they need to have a common language that makes reference to the same thing, for example, we both know that a “dog” is an animal that barks, has 4 legs… … it is difficult to imagine that babies share these common referents that will enable them to understand each other. But as you pointed out in your question it is possible that the issue is that we just don’t understand them.

      This is a very lovely video of two babies talking to each other:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JmA2ClUvUY

      Please do not hesitate to ask any further questions

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