Newborns' crying melody reflect parents' language

[Maciamo]

BBc News : Babies 'cry in mother's tongue'

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBC German researchers say babies begin to pick up the nuances of their parents' accents while still in the womb. The researchers studied the cries of 60 healthy babies born to families speaking French and German. The French newborns cried with a rising "accent" while the German babies' cries had a falling inflection.

This confirms that unborn babies can hear their environment well enough to perceive language, and that culture and mindset are already being moulded before birth.

The study doesn't investigate the case of babies born in bilingual environment, or the influence of foreign-language TV exposure (e.g. pregnant mothers watching original films or series in English every day).