Re: cognitive != observable? (project three)

"Kent Paul Dolan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...

> A baby that can say "da da da" is massively reinforced in
> an environment where the parent wants the baby to say "dada",
> and so it begins, but the ability to connect reinforcement
> to pattern must pre-exist or no learning could take place.
> 

One of the references makes the point that da-da and ma-ma are some of
the most common sounds that babies make - try it and you'll see that
the vowel sound 'aa' is somewhat easier to utter than 'ay', 'ee',
'oh', or 'oo', which all require more tonque/mouth control - with the
result that da-da and ma-ma are common words for parents in many
languages. Biology made it so. It's in the egg, not the chicken.