How is it that some birds can imitate a human voice so precisely? Imagine how astounded the first humans who heard one were to hear words reflected with such exact intonation and articulation.
Children perform this exact same feat, but only after hearing words or expressions repeatedly, usually around two years of age.
Many comedians can imitate a foreign language without actually saying anything meaningful (watch Sid Caesar pretending to speak German).
As parents, we often repeat sounds to an infant (ex. cooing, ooh’s, and aah’s) until the baby responds in like fashion. Why is the child even encouraged to make those sounds? The bonding process appears to be instinctive. Why else would a grown adult sound like an infant and is that really any kind of incentive for an infant to “placate” the adult making those unusual sounds?
These are questions best left to qualified researchers. However, they do stimulate some intrigue regarding humans’ need for communication with other sentient beings.
At CINCILINGUA, immersion in English is strongly encouraged and takes advantage of our basic drive to mimic.
