Repetitive Syllables

Assessments of language learning in 18-month-olds suggest that children are better at grasping the names of objects with repeated syllables, over words with non-identical syllables. Researchers say the study may help explain why some words or phrases, such as 'train' and 'good night', have given rise to versions with repeated syllables, such as choo-choo and night-night. The researchers say such words are easier for infants to learn, and may provide them with a starting point for vocabulary learning. A team from the University of Edinburgh assessed the infants' language learning behavior in a series of visual and attention tests using pictures on a computer screen of two unfamiliar objects. The two objects were named with made-up words that were communicated to the infants by a recorded voice one with two identical syllables, for example, needed, and the other without repeated syllables, such as bolay. The infants were then tested for their recognition of each made-up word. Recordings of their eye movements showed they looked more reliably at the object labeled with repeated syllables, than the other object. Researchers validated their results with a control test, in which the infants responded to pictures of familiar objects -- such as a dog or an apple.