Prenatal Ability

[Scylax]

We read in todays 'Daily Telegraph' that U.S Professor Moon has published research findings in 'Acta Paediatrica' to inform us that foetuses can hear their mother's voice,and can store the sounds in memory, for later use as language. This may be stunning, but newsworthy it certainly isn't. I was teaching this to undergrads some 25 years ago. Am I psychic, or has there been a time- slipage?

[factor-fiction]

I assume that this is the first properly conducted test. What you may have been teaching may have been based on assumptions/beliefs which now appear to have been true

[Sqad]

I have a certain amount of sympathy with your post Scylax, as it has been known, as you have said, that the foetus can respond to sound at about 20 weeks.
Whether they remember the sounds is, I assume the basis of the latest research.

I haven.t read the article unfortunately.

[Sqad]

I should have said " it has been known for at least half a century."

[jno]

where did you get the information you passed on to students? I suspect Sqad and factor30 are right, and that what's new is the study-based evidence that they remember what they hear, but maybe you recall earlier research on the subject?

[rockyracoon]

When I was pregnant with my first child decided in a little experiment, from about 30 weeks I played a certain song about 5 times a day. After he was born he was hard to settle, so after a couple of weeks I played the song to him, it shut him up immediately and he went sleep.

[anneasquith]

rocky. out of interest. what was the song ?

[rockyracoon]

You'll probably laugh, but it was Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack, one of my favourites. Funnily enough it came on the radio the other day and I asked my son (who doesn't like listening to music) if he liked it, he just smiled and 'you know what, I don't mind this song'.

[rockyracoon]

Should read, he just smiled and SAID? Doh.

[Scylax]

Certainly I acknowledge that what I retailed to students all those years ago was someone else's research, perhaps gleaned from Noam Chomsky and Corrinne Hutt, circa 1972, both of whom influenced me greatly. Both asserted, with substantial proof, that language acquisition is largely genetic, and as such is in operation long before birth. It may be, as has been said here, that Prof Moon's work could be an elaboration of these earlier works, giving yet more credence to Chomsky's LAD (Language Acquisition Device).

This is certainly a case of 'seeing far because we sit on the shoulders of giants'
It now behoves me to read 'Acta Paedriatica' with some interest.