The first words a baby learns can vary depending on the language they are exposed to. While there are common themes, the exact words differ across linguistic environments.
Early Words Learned by Babies
Research indicates that words acquired early in one language often appear early in others. This suggests some universality in the concepts or objects babies first focus on. The provided reference offers specific examples based on frequency studies.
In American English
According to the reference, the 10 most frequent first words learned by babies in American English are:
| Rank | Word |
|---|---|
| 1 | mommy |
| 2 | daddy |
| 3 | ball |
| 4 | bye |
| 5 | hi |
| 6 | no |
| 7 | dog |
| 8 | baby |
| 9 | woof woof |
| 10 | banana |
These words often relate to people, common objects, greetings, or simple sounds.
In Hebrew
The reference also provides the list for Hebrew, showing some overlap but also distinct words reflecting cultural or common experiences:
| Rank | Word |
|---|---|
| 1 | mommy |
| 2 | yum yum |
| 3 | grandma |
| 4 | vroom |
| 5 | grandpa |
| 6 | daddy |
| 7 | banana |
| 8 | this |
| 9 | bye |
| 10 | car |
As seen, words like mommy, daddy, bye, and banana appear in both lists, while others are unique to the specific language environment, such as dog and woof woof in English, or yum yum, grandma, vroom, grandpa, this, and car in Hebrew.
These lists represent the most frequent first words observed in these specific languages based on the data cited.
