Humans are the only great apes that truly engage in 'baby talk'


By AGENCY

Unlike our primate cousins, humans change voices to communicate with babies. — AFP

Talking to babies in a high-pitched voice and using exaggerated pronunciation seems natural to most parents. This way of speaking, found in all human cultures, is thought to facilitate language learning in young children. But is this universal human practice shared by our closest cousins?

A study published in the journal Science Advances reveals that great apes communicate very little with their young, suggesting that our propensity for "baby talk” is a distinctive feature of the human species.

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chimpanzees , apes , babies , baby talk

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