Language, meaning and communication in babies

Brazilian researchers study roughly 40 children from 0 to 13 months old and find that they are capable of interacting and expressing themselves in culturally appropriate ways.

By Karina Toledo

Agência FAPESP – Human beings are “language beings.” From birth and well before language is learned, humans are capable of dialoguing and negotiating with partners – whether adults or other babies – through looks, gestures, vocalizations and other age-appropriate methods. The whole body is a conduit for understanding, expression and signification.

This is the point of view of Kátia de Souza Amorim, a specialist in the Psychology of Human Development at the Philosophy, Sciences and Languages School at Universidade de São Paulo Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP/USP). The researcher coordinated a FAPESP-funded research project whose objective is to investigate how signification and language processes occur in the first two years of life.

Amorim also coordinated another study on the corporeality and signification in developmental processes in the first year of life.

“Usually, it is thought that babies only sleep and breast feed and that when they express themselves, it is nothing more than an emotional discharge. But our studies show that in reality, from very early on, babies are capable of expressing themselves in a culturally appropriate way,” said Amorim.

“This does not mean that they understand the meaning of words through cognition, through intellect; rather, they learn their meaning in relationships within the environment. Through particular resources, they receive and act on them, being capable of dialoguing with others, even in silent dialogue,” she affirmed.

To reach these conclusions, the researcher and her collaborators monitored 40 children of up to 13 months in age in different relationships and contexts: at home, in a daycare and in orphanages. The interactions between the babies and their family members, caretakers and other children, including same-age peers, were recorded and later analyzed by scientists.

“The study began under the auspices of a Thematic Project coordinated by Professor Clotilde Rossetti-Ferreira, of FFCLRP. At the time, we followed a group of 21 children that had just begun daycare at a center run by USP-Ribeirão Preto. Our objective was to study the adaptation process of babies in the collective education environment,” said Amorim.

During this period, the researchers recorded three hours of video daily, showing the interactions between the babies and their mothers, educators and other children. As the researchers observed indications of interaction and communication between the babies themselves, the scientists conducted further studies and created additional image and databases.

“We could clearly observe that the babies were capable of expressing themselves and, in some way, understanding what was happening in their surroundings. So, we raised a series of questions to study communication and signification before spoken language acquisition,” said Amorim.

Within communication competencies, adds the researcher, emotion serves as a form of dialog without words, representing a form of communication that involves the entire body and is not merely restricted to the face and voice. From very early on, such emotion begins to be charged with intentionality as it is directed at partners through an increase, reduction or substitution of signals and tones, as well as transformed in its style and manifestation.

“If crying was solely an emotional discharge, babies would all act the same way. But we observed that they do not cry or smile for everyone in the same way,” commented Amorim.

According to the researcher, the analysis of videos shows that although babies have preferential relationships with their mothers, they also build connections with other people – both adults and same-age peers – in their context. And these relationships are very different.

“If there are two educators or two children, for example, the baby clearly shows a preference for one of them. They not only interact more with that individual, but as communication resources are varied, they use some more or less frequently, in addition to changing the resources with time and in different situations,” she said.

“For us, this was surprising, because it shows the baby’s refined ability to differentiate between relationships and wealth of communicative competencies. In some manner, the baby distinguishes between partners and also uses varied ways of communicating with those partners,” said Amorim.

Interactions among children

According to the FFCLRP-USP researcher, many behaviors that are considered automatic or natural today – as a result of biological maturation – have proven to be, in reality, built on relationships with partners, serving to regulate the other’s behavior and constituting a dialogue with the interlocutor.

In these relationships and in communication in which there is an exchange of meanings, the researchers found active participation from the child, even though she is not capable of using words.

The behaviors communicate problems and are directed at someone, and they may even anticipate a possible response. The behaviors also take a form that is directly related to the environment in which they are derived, building roles and ways of being in the world.

The topic is controversial, according to Amorim, because for the majority of authors, language is developed from the internalization of signs and acquisition of speech. As a result, many studies on language and communication among children focus on age groups beyond the first year of life.

“Recognizing competencies since birth, however, allows one to see the baby far beyond what he or she will be – a vocalizing adult – highlighting what he or she already is,” she says.

In the researcher’s opinion, the results can contribute to reflections on the way family members, educators and other professionals understand babies and how they view life and relationships with a child. For Amorim, interactions between children and their same-age peers should be favored.

“We have sent research promo materials to congresses, daycares, education/teaching courses and other professionals that work in childhood development. Many teachers are bothered by having to work with babies. They say they got a degree to change diapers. But if there is an understanding that in reality, when they change diapers, they are teaching, learning and relating to someone who can communicate, that all changes,” adds Amorim.