Why? They can distinguish between their own dialects and between languages they’ve never heard even when they see adults speaking without hearing them! Babies raised in homes where one language is spoken don’t have these discrimination skills.
Bilingual babies can track what they hear and see in order to decode language. They observe lip movements and the rhythm of the jaws and other facial expressions.
There are lifelong benefits to this skill.
They may indicate a baby’s emerging ability to focus attention and to achieve complex problem-solving. There’s even some connection between speaking multiple languages and delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s.
Exposing your baby to a second language on an intensive basis could improve their cognitive abilities. Learning another language as a family could be fun! Give it a go!
Claudia
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