Deb Roy's fascinating experiment captured over 200,000 hours of home video to study early language development, particularly how his son's first word evolved. Through analyzing interactions that consistently featured the word 'water,' it was shown that context—like place, time, and accompanying words—significantly influenced language acquisition. These findings highlight that babies begin understanding language long before they can speak, tuning into the spoken words and patterns particularly from their mothers, making repetitive and contextual communication vital during early development.
Developmental psychologists have long thought that children learn words through repeated interactions. This principle underscores the importance of context in a child's early language acquisition.
Roy analysed every time his son heard the word 'water' and the settings in which the word was heard, revealing how crucial the context is in language learning.
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