Sarah Reyner

February 4, 2013
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Section 4
Angie Getz
Summary of Language Learning May Begin Before Birth
Bruce Bowers Article Language Learning May Begin Before Birth discusses the
recent findings that reveal that exposure to language begins while the fetus is still in the
mothers womb. Several studies have been conducted in order to investigate this
phenomenon; their results insinuate an altered way of thinking from previous theories
about prenatal comprehension. They suggests that even before newborns are born, they
recognize their mothers dialect.
In order to explain this theory, Bruce uses the studies conducted by Christine
Moon, a psychologist at Pacific Lutheran University. Her experiment consisted of 80
healthy newborns located in either U.S. or Swedish hospitals. By electronically
observing the infants sucking trends on their electronically wired pacifier, Moon was
able to identify foreign and familiar vowel sounds. On average, the infants sucked more
when exposed to a foreign vowel sound indicating that they categorize these foreign
noises into the single category of unfamiliar.
In the article Language Learning May Begin Before Birth, Bruce Bower explains
a new theory about infants comprehension. By using the scientific findings of Christine
Moon, he explains how infants begin to associate certain sounds as familiar even before
the fetus has left the mothers womb. These findings contradict previous notions that
infants are only exposed to musical notes, volume, and temp.