As you may know, Paul is trying to mimic the sounds you make. He's not completely successful as of yet, but he is figuring out how his whole vocal apparatus works--which is terribly complex and difficult, actually--and what sort of sounds he needs to learn to make.
One of my linguistic professors joked that she understands why babies and toddlers sleep so much: it's because they're constantly learning, and they just tire their little brains out! (I think the fact that most babies double in size from birth to six months also has something to do with it.) English has around 40 distinct sounds that we form into words. Each sound has to be learned and repeated often so that the vocal apparatus becomes accustomed to making the sound.
You'll see that once he gets a sound, he'll repeat it over and over and over (da-da-da-da-da-da-da). But then, he'll find a neat new sound (kind of like "Ooh, shiny! New!") and he'll drop the old sound in favor of the new (ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma). This does not mean he prefers one parent over the other, but just that he wants to practice his new sound. Then he'll start getting really adventuresome and combine the sounds!
Interesting bit of trivia here: the last sounds kids learn to produce are the two th- sounds, as in breath and breathe. Kids usually can't accurately reproduce these sounds until age four or later (which is why, when asked his age, a three-year-old will instead declare his independence. "I'm free!"). It is also the sound that non-English speakers have the most trouble with if they are coming from a non-Germanic language.
Of course, as a mother of three, you probably know all this, but I couldn't resist.
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Date: 2005-11-24 07:03 am (UTC)*puts on linguist cap*
As you may know, Paul is trying to mimic the sounds you make. He's not completely successful as of yet, but he is figuring out how his whole vocal apparatus works--which is terribly complex and difficult, actually--and what sort of sounds he needs to learn to make.
One of my linguistic professors joked that she understands why babies and toddlers sleep so much: it's because they're constantly learning, and they just tire their little brains out! (I think the fact that most babies double in size from birth to six months also has something to do with it.) English has around 40 distinct sounds that we form into words. Each sound has to be learned and repeated often so that the vocal apparatus becomes accustomed to making the sound.
You'll see that once he gets a sound, he'll repeat it over and over and over (da-da-da-da-da-da-da). But then, he'll find a neat new sound (kind of like "Ooh, shiny! New!") and he'll drop the old sound in favor of the new (ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma). This does not mean he prefers one parent over the other, but just that he wants to practice his new sound. Then he'll start getting really adventuresome and combine the sounds!
Interesting bit of trivia here: the last sounds kids learn to produce are the two th- sounds, as in breath and breathe. Kids usually can't accurately reproduce these sounds until age four or later (which is why, when asked his age, a three-year-old will instead declare his independence. "I'm free!"). It is also the sound that non-English speakers have the most trouble with if they are coming from a non-Germanic language.
Of course, as a mother of three, you probably know all this, but I couldn't resist.
*doffs linguist cap*
He's so adorable!