Eli5 why the words for mom and dad are so similar in a wide variety of languages
In: 237
Most language parents teach their babies but babies taught parents their names. Ma, ba, da, and pa sounds some of the first phonemes a baby can make. As they use these sounds randomly parents respond to them trying to figure out what they are trying to say. Babies realize their parents respond to these sounds and use the sounds more often to get their attention. This is pretty universal so everyone around the world is used to their babies calling them by these sounds so they adapted words that share these sounds as words for mom and dad
Latest Answers