Summary of The linguistic genius of babies | Patricia Kuhl

00:00:00 - 00:10:00

This video discusses the linguistic genius of babies and how they are able to learn new languages. It also discusses how scientists are using new machines to study the baby's brain while they are learning.

• 00:00:00 The baby in the video is speaking a newly discovered language, Koro, and the mother is speaking to the baby in Hindi. The baby is able to distinguish sounds in both languages, demonstrating their genius for language acquisition. What scientists have found is that the critical period for language learning is between 6 and 8 months old, and that babies reach their full potential for language acquisition between the ages of 7 and 11 years old.
• 00:05:00 The video discusses how babies take statistics on a new language, and how this process is controlled by the social brain. The video then shows how a new machine, magnetoencephalography, can be used to see the baby's brain while they are learning.
• 00:10:00 Patricia Kuhl discusses the linguistic genius of babies, and how we can use this talent to our advantage.