4 ms·

Mama isn't always the first "word". Some babies start with dada or papa, sometimes to the dismay of their mother who don't understand the development of languag

by pygy_ 13y ago

Mama isn't always the first "word". Some babies start with dada or papa, sometimes to the dismay of their mother who don't understand the development of language and feel rejected... It is not surprising that some culture developed it the other way around.

anonymous 13y ago
I watched my brother grow up and his first word was "give me". Well, to be pedantic it was "dai", which means "give me". Given that it's a simple single syllable, it's somewhat in line with the article... Edit: before you ask, yes he did know exactly what it meant. He'd point at things and say "dai", fully expecting you to bring it to him.
- mdpye 13y ago
  before you ask, yes he did know exactly what it meant. He'd point at things and say "dai", fully expecting you to bring it to him. I think you may well be reading too much in to it. Reaching for things and uttering out of frustration if they're out of reach comes long before any useful linguistic understanding. Do you remember how old he was? As someone with several younger siblings and newborn foster siblings, I'd guess that it was a cute coincidence (as many "first words" are).
  - anonymous 13y ago
    2 or 3. It's an interesting philosophic argument though - if he knew that pointing at things and saying that word led to others almost always giving him what he asked for, does that mean he knew the meaning of the word, or is he just aware of its effect? Is saying "mama" and expecting mom to come any different, given that it's not an actual full imperative sentence?
    - pkolaczk 13y ago
      First word at age 2 or 3 years old? Can't be. With a 3-year-old you can talk using short sentences, and typically they know about 100-200 words, sometimes more. The first word like "mama" "baba" "tata" usually comes out at age <12 months.
Angostura 13y ago
Both our kids produced 'dada' before 'mama' - seems quite common.

by pygy_ 13y ago

anonymous 13y ago

I watched my brother grow up and his first word was "give me". Well, to be pedantic it was "dai", which means "give me". Given that it's a simple single syllable, it's somewhat in line with the article... Edit: before you ask, yes he did know exactly what it meant. He'd point at things and say "dai", fully expecting you to bring it to him.

mdpye 13y ago
before you ask, yes he did know exactly what it meant. He'd point at things and say "dai", fully expecting you to bring it to him. I think you may well be reading too much in to it. Reaching for things and uttering out of frustration if they're out of reach comes long before any useful linguistic understanding. Do you remember how old he was? As someone with several younger siblings and newborn foster siblings, I'd guess that it was a cute coincidence (as many "first words" are).
- anonymous 13y ago
  2 or 3. It's an interesting philosophic argument though - if he knew that pointing at things and saying that word led to others almost always giving him what he asked for, does that mean he knew the meaning of the word, or is he just aware of its effect? Is saying "mama" and expecting mom to come any different, given that it's not an actual full imperative sentence?
  - pkolaczk 13y ago
    First word at age 2 or 3 years old? Can't be. With a 3-year-old you can talk using short sentences, and typically they know about 100-200 words, sometimes more. The first word like "mama" "baba" "tata" usually comes out at age <12 months.

Angostura 13y ago

Both our kids produced 'dada' before 'mama' - seems quite common.