If we were to define babies by a universal ability or characteristic, that would undoubtedly be babbling. During the first months of life, babies’ interactions with people around them are reduced to babbling. Sounds that, a priori, might not mean anything by themselves. However, research in recent years has concluded that, oddly enough, babbling in babies actually lays the foundation for language development during adult life.
Amid the random sounds babies make, babbling is recognized as a different category of sound that usually begins between six and eight months of life. Thus, according to Catherine Laing, a linguistic researcher at the University of Cardiff (United Kingdom), it could be defined as the production of repetitive syllables, similar to speech. Furthermore, the researcher considers that babbling is the beginning of learning sounds that can be used in speech, especially in adulthood.
Different phases of babbling
According to the researchers, babbling has different phases. Babies initially emit a variety of different consonants that they repeat very rhythmically. Later on, babies often just repeat one or two consonants quite frequently. In fact, according to Laing, having a different pair of consonants that you can speak fluently is essential to start forming words.
During this stage, babies put together long syllabic chains, despite having no knowledge of their practical value. However, as time goes by, these chains get shorter and shorter. This is because babies begin to have greater awareness and try to imitate the words that the adults around them are saying.
Similarly, this research indicates that hearing-impaired babies also begin to babble like hearing babies. However, that progress stops at the stage where their babbling would begin to sound like a word, as they cannot hear the words of the adults that they would normally try to imitate. Similarly, according to researcher Laing, hearing-impaired babies who receive a cochlear implant soon begin to babble, as if they want to catch up on sounds that have been lost in all that time.
Thus, the main conclusion of this research is that babbling is a springboard towards language, so it is necessary to promote it through extensive communication with the baby. Also, although interaction with parents is imperative, it is important for babies to interact with as many people as possible.
