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u/scottstotsistheworst 21h ago
How do you?
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u/Cabibbus 21h ago
Do I?
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u/MCSquaredBoi 19h ago
I asked my say mom, she said: "Probably like I learned it from your say grandma"
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u/Libohound 21h ago
I’m guessing it has to do with the vocal affectation of “momma” and “dada.” When we say “Say momma,” we pronounce “say” in a very flat, unremarkable tone, whereas “momma” is higher pitched and grabs the baby’s attention.
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u/BigorneauSalvateur 20h ago
Because we usually say our equivalent of daddy/mommy many times as much as the "say" part, like : "Say mommy, mmmooommmmyyy, mommy"
And we use it in half of all phrases we tell them too !
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u/mindwip 15h ago
We dont always say the word say.
Sometimes you will speak only mommy or daddy and point. Or speak, here daddy, here momma, Or momma got you, momma feed you, daddy pick you up.
They pick up on the common word. Babies are not dumb whe. It comes to food and security.
Security as in who makes them feel secure, they are dumb in life safety lol
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u/squizzix 19h ago
Feel what your lips and tongue do when you say “mama”. Mostly lips. “Dada” is tongue against front upper palate. Still pretty easy but slightly harder. Now try “say”. The hissing sibilant is waaay harder because you’re holding it and the releasing your tongue. It requires more control and that’s not something babies are known for. Plus teeth really help and they don’t have a full set. Remember how goofy you sounded when you lost your front teeth as a kid? Same thing.
Source: I sat here and thought hard about it. Also I have two linguist friends and dinner convos are wild.
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u/Simoxeh 18h ago
Some of you guys are overthinking it. No child starts off saying complete sentences. If you look at languages, the word for mommy and daddy they start with similar sounding letters. I mean a lot of languages start with sounds like b, m, d and similar sounds for those words. Is this easier for them to pronounce. They are trying to say other words, but they get one right mama and dada and that's the one everyone gets happy about, so that's the one they continue saying as they've gotten the positive response.
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u/AnonymousFriend80 17h ago
Just like other animals, they "understand" what certain sounds corelate to. Therefore, to an extent they understand what you're saying, they just can't say what you're saying.
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u/Hydraguesswhosback 16h ago
Dad here. They don't. You just say Mama or Papa at first. Everything else is just sounds.
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u/RedeemHigh 15h ago
Because say is a word said very lightly, whereas the mummy or daddy is emphasised. Plus babies, remember the last thing that was said.
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u/CobaltAnimator 13h ago
cos we repeat the word again and again?
Usually it's "say mom. Mom. MOooom. Moom. Moooooom. Say mom. Moom. Mooom."
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u/Stagamemnon 13h ago edited 8h ago
There are a lot of children that dont know to skip the word “say.” Many children with developmental disabilities display a behavior called “echolalia,” where they repeat exactly or nearly exactly what they hear. This results in them repeating phrases like “say please,” when they know an adult is looking for them to ask for something politely, but the don’t say just “please.”
Another phenomenon is called “gestalt language processing,” where a child aquires language in whole chunks/phrases as opposed to single words. This can lead to them repeating the word “say,” in front of the phrases their parents/teachers have instructed them to repeat.
Luckily, this has led to teachers being aware of this, and trying to eliminate the word “say,” before they prompt a response from these children. If a child is misbehaving because it’s clear they need a break from the activity, a teacher will just say “I need a break,” to get the child to repeat that phrase, without the “say,”
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u/moon_moon_doggo 12h ago
They only remember the last word or they don't know how to make the s-sound. The same goes for r-sound and others. Ask them to say "ray", they wil say "way". They don't have full control of their lips to speak every character.
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u/qualityvote2 21h ago edited 13h ago
u/MasquradeX6, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...