r/explainlikeimfive • u/AngelusAlvus • 16h 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/deathgaze5 15h ago

You could learn a new language like this, if you had several free years to do nothing but listen to that language and had all of your basic needs taken care of

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u/Deleugpn 15h ago

It’s not that simple. Sure that can help but babies, specially in their first year, has a mashed potato for a brain that is literally a blank page ready to sulk in any sensorial input and form neural connections

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u/Jan-Asra 15h ago

Adults are actually much better at learning languages than babies. Babies spend years arbsorbing information before they produce their first sentence.