‘Baby Talk’ Could Be The Reason Humans Are The Only Speaking Species On Earth
Human infants receive up to 400 times more direct vocal communication than baby bonobos and nearly 70 times more than baby chimpanzees, suggesting our talkative parenting style is unique among great apes. While background chatter around infants was similar across humans, chimps, and bonobos, only human caregivers consistently focused speech directly at their babies, a behavior thought to support language learning. The findings suggest that the evolution of intensive baby talk in humans may have played a crucial role in developing our species’ capacity for complex spoken language. ….[READ]
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