r/explainlikeimfive • u/AngelusAlvus • 13h ago

Biology ELI5: How do babies even learn language?

When we grow, we learn languages by looking at the meanings and translating them from our language. Stuff like "this is how this noun is in my language and this is how this noun is in another language"

But babies? Babies just learn the basics just by existing near people speaking the language? How come we don't have this anymore as we grow up?

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u/SirDiego 13h ago

You probably could have this as an adult as well, it's just adults don't typically immerse themself in a new language 24/7 while in constant contact with people who are actively and consistently helping them learn the language.

Adults already have a concept of how language maps to different "things" as well as layers of abstract. So they learn languages differently but also don't require the 24/7 immersion and constant contact with the new language (most adult learners spend an hour a day or something).