Before they even speak, infants become attuned to the sounds of the language(s) they hear, processing native phonetic contrasts more easily than nonnative ones. For example, between 6 to 8 mo and 10 ...
Languages differ in the sounds they use. The Japanese language, for example, does not distinguish between "r" and "l" sounds as in "rock" versus "lock." Remarkably, infants become attuned to the ...