The studies that are being carried out on the functioning of babies' brains are amazing, and the capabilities they have with just months, and even days, are also amazing. The last thing that has been known is that Newborns are able to distinguish languages.
As soon as they are born, they are able to distinguish some pairs of languages such as English and French or Japanese and English, while at four months they manage to differentiate Catalan from Spanish. It should be clarified that this distinction does not occur if the Catalan is from Lleida, due to the different pronunciation of the vowels.
The authors of the study also explain that although a child grows up in bilingual homes, "most human beings do not learn more than one language from birth." If each parent speaks a different language, the baby first learns, usually from the mother, who has been exposed for the longest time.
It has also been found that bilingualism increases the perceptual capacity of the brain. Bilingual babies, unlike monolinguals, are able to distinguish the sound of two different languages even after eight months by having some aspects of their executive function more developed.
Although it may seem strange, Newborns are able to distinguish languages. In fact it has been proven that the path to bilingualism opens in the womb. Babies living in a bilingual environment learn the difference between the two languages even from before birth. Amazing, right?
