--- title: How babies learn to talk — how Mova does on the tests · Language description: Lesson 31 of the language course of Mova's primary school: 8 of 11 tests right, exam 3 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/) / [Language](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/) / 31 # How babies learn to talk **Tests:** 8 of 11 right · **Exam:** 3 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 12 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72` Lesson 31 of the language course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/). Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/). ### Test 1 · ★ · right ✓ {#t1} Your mate goes "babies don't learn nothing till they talk, bruv." What's true? - **1.** They only learn after age three — score 3 - **2.** They only learn from books — score 5 - **3.** They start learning from before birth — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7 - **4.** He's right, they learn nothing until their first word — score 4 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 31, line 1: «Babies start learning language before they can say a single word: newborns already prefer their mother's voice and the sounds of the language they heard before…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «start» (+4); the same doer «babies» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t1/) ### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2} Grandma worries because Kai says "I goed to the park". What would you tell her? - **1.** He should stop talking — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** He has a serious problem and needs to see a doctor soon — no support - **3.** He has picked up a foreign accent — no support - **4.** It's a normal sign he's learned the past-tense rule — **✓ the right answer** · no support **Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t2/) ### Test 3 · ★ · right ✓ {#t3} What would happen if a child only ever copied words they heard, and never worked out rules? - **1.** They would talk earlier — no support - **2.** They could never say "wugs" about a new creature — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 0 - **3.** They would speak perfectly at once, without a single mistake — no support - **4.** They would only speak in rules — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 31, line 11: «In 1958 the scientist Jean Berko Gleason made the "wug test": children who had never heard "wug" still said "two wugs", which showed they know rules, not just…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+4); the same thing acted on «two wugs» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-6). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t3/) ### Test 4 · ★ · right ✓ {#t4} A Gen Z auntie says "baby talk is cringe and bad for babies, fr." ("Fr" means for real, "cringe" means embarrassing.) What does research say? - **1.** Babies pay more attention to sing-song talk, and it can help — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 9 - **2.** It has no effect at all — no support - **3.** She's right, it harms babies and slows down their talking — no support - **4.** It makes babies stop talking — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 31, line 13: «The high, sing-song voice adults use with babies is called parentese; research shows babies pay more attention to it, and it can help them learn.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «pay» (+3); the same doer «babies» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same thing acted on «more attention» (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t4/) ### Test 5 · ★ · right ✓ {#t5} Your uncle says "all languages come from one word mama, that proves it." What's the better explanation? - **1.** Mama was invented in 1950 — no support - **2.** He's right, it proves all languages are one family — no support - **3.** "Ma" is an easy baby sound, so many languages chose it — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score -1 - **4.** Mama is an English word that every other language copied — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score -1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 31, line 8: «"Ma" and "pa" are among the easiest sounds for babies, so many languages use them for parents (English "mama", Ukrainian "мама", Mandarin "māma", French "maman…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «ma» (+1). Against it: the same doer «many languages» (-1); a different action (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t5/) ### Test 6 · ★ · right ✓ {#t6} Your cousin from Dublin says "the wee one's mixin' Irish and English, she's all mixed up, the craic." ("Wee" means little, "the craic" here means it's fun.) What's true? - **1.** Mixing languages is a normal step for children with two languages — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4 - **2.** She will never learn either language — no support - **3.** She is badly confused — no support - **4.** She should stop one language — score 4 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 19, line 14: «Jamaican Patois, also called Jamaican Creole, grew from English mixed with West African languages; it is spoken by millions and has its own grammar; "Mi soon c…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «mix» (+3); the same thing acted on «english» (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t6/) ### Test 7 · ★ · right ✓ {#t7} In a cartoon a baby says "Good morning, Father, please pass the toast" on day one. What's wrong? - **1.** Babies speak only French — no support - **2.** Babies only say "toast" first — score 5 - **3.** Nothing, healthy babies can talk in full sentences from birth — score 1 - **4.** Real babies babble first and say first words around one year — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 31, line 1: «Babies start learning language before they can say a single word: newborns already prefer their mother's voice and the sounds of the language they heard before…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+3); the same doer «babies» (+2); the same thing acted on «single word» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t7/) ### Test 8 · ★ · right ✓ {#t8} Leo's dad is sure "ba-ba-ba" means "bottle". What's more likely? - **1.** Leo is saying "baby" — no support - **2.** Leo is babbling to practise sounds — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7 - **3.** Leo really asked for his bottle — no support - **4.** Leo is singing a song — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 31, line 2: «At about six months Baby Leo says "ba-ba-ba" and "da-da-da" and his dad cries "He said Dad!"; really Leo is practising sounds, like a musician playing scales,…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «practise» (+4); the same doer «leo» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t8/) ### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9} Your dad says "too late for me to learn Ukrainian, I'm 40." What's the encouraging truth? - **1.** Adults can learn languages well, it's never too late — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** Adults can only learn sign language — no support - **3.** Only children can learn Ukrainian — no support - **4.** He's right, learning a language is impossible after the age of 12 — **← Mova's choice** · score 6 **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 26, line 4: «One phrasal verb can have several meanings, so the situation decides: Dad "picking you up" at 5 means collecting you in the car, not lifting you into the air.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «pick up» (+3); the same doer «dad» (+3). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t9/) ### Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t10} A toddler says "Me want more juice!" and her big sis says she "talks like a robot, she's thick." What's true? - **1.** She is behind other children and needs special help — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** Short key-word sentences are a normal stage around age 2 — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** She is copying robots she has seen on TV cartoons — no support - **4.** She will always speak like that — no support **Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t10/) ### Test 11 · ★ · right ✓ {#t11} Your baby cousin calls every round thing "ball", even the Moon. What should you do? - **1.** Agree the Moon is a ball to play with — no support - **2.** Never mention the Moon to her ever again — score -4 - **3.** Tell her off for being so silly about it — no support - **4.** Name it for her: "That's the Moon!" — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 10 **Why:** It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 4 with score 10, against -4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 2, line 1: «A noun is a naming word: it names a person (girl, Mia), a place (kitchen, London), a thing (cat, mat) or an idea or feeling (happiness, fear).», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «person» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «name» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t11/) ### Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓ {#e1} Which of the following statements most accurately characterises babbling in infants? - **1.** It occurs only in infants of bilingual parents — score 5 - **2.** It constitutes the production of fully formed words — score 5 - **3.** It constitutes the practice of speech sounds preceding the production of words — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8 - **4.** It is an indication of a disorder of hearing — score 7 **Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 31, line 6: «Babbling, repeating sounds like "ba-ba" and "da-da", usually starts around six months; it is practice, not real words yet.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «practice» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «babbling» (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/e1/) ### Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓ {#e2} Identify the principal finding of the "wug test" devised by Jean Berko Gleason in 1958. - **1.** Children apply grammatical rules to words they have never previously heard — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7 - **2.** Children prefer drawings to words — score 4 - **3.** Children cannot form plurals before the age of ten — no support - **4.** Children reproduce only those words which they have previously heard from adults — score 3 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 31, line 11: «In 1958 the scientist Jean Berko Gleason made the "wug test": children who had never heard "wug" still said "two wugs", which showed they know rules, not just…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «hear» (+4); the same doer «children» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/e2/) ### Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓ {#e3} In respect of a child who says "I runned", select the response consistent with the established facts. - **1.** The child should be prevented from speaking until corrected — no support - **2.** The child is applying a general rule to an irregular verb, a normal stage of development — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 3 - **3.** The child is suffering from a disorder of speech requiring immediate professional treatment — no support - **4.** The child has acquired the form from adult speech — score 3 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 31, line 11: «In 1958 the scientist Jean Berko Gleason made the "wug test": children who had never heard "wug" still said "two wugs", which showed they know rules, not just…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «children» (+3); the same thing acted on «rules» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/e3/) ### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4} Ascertain the term designating the mixing of two languages within a single utterance by a bilingual child. - **1.** Overregularisation — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** Bilingual babbling — no support - **3.** Code-switching — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** Telegraphic speech — no support **Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/e4/) - ← previous: [30. Texting, abbreviations and emoji](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/30-texting-abbreviations-and-emoji/) - next →: [32. Sign language](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/32-sign-language/) - ↑ back to [Language](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/)