Baby: “/ʌ/ /ʌ/ /ʌːʌːʌː/ /ɜ/ /ɜ/ /ɜ/ /ʌ/ /ʌ/ /ʌː/ /ʌ/ /b/ /b/ /bb/ /bbb/ /b/ /bʌ/ /bʌː/ /bɜː/”
Mother: “Oh! Did you say, /ˈbɑːbɑː/ ?! /ˈbɑːbɑː/ !”
Baby: “/b/”
Mother: “/ˈbɑːbɑː/! /ˈbɑːbɑː/!”
Baby: “/bɑː/”
Mother: “OMG! /ˈbɑːbɑː/! Oh, aren’t you cute! OMG! Everyone come, quick! He said /ˈbɑːbɑː/!!”
Father: “Really? He said /ˈbɑːbɑː/? Let me hear it?! /ˈbɑːbɑː/! /ˈbɑːbɑː/!”
Baby: “/b/”
Over the past few years the Youtube Recommended algorithm presented me with numerous “How to learn any language in 3 months”, “How I learned to speak Italian in 48 hours“, and “The real science of language learning – a professor explains” videos. This led me to two things: 1. Search for a browser plugin that can hide Youtube Recommended 2. Wonder about how first language learning might really work.
