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Article 7174 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: nlc@media.mit.edu (Nick Cassimatis)
Subject: "Mama"
Message-ID: <1992Oct9.025636.27460@news.media.mit.edu>
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References: <c99-aa.718545726@danube.Berkeley.EDU> <1b1kk8INNgf7@smaug.West.Sun.COM> <1992Oct8.175921.28043@gallant.apple.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 02:56:36 GMT
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In article <1992Oct8.175921.28043@gallant.apple.com> enea1@applelink.apple.com (Horace Enea) writes:
>Here's a thought, maybe the child say "MA" just because its easy and the mother
>responds.  That is to say, the child is "teaching" the mother.
>
>Horace

Has anyone ever heard the following theory of why "mama" seems to
universally be the infant "word for" mother:

The motor process pronouncing "mama" and the motor process of sucking
are very similar.  Thus, saying "mama" feels like sucking to the
infant and is thus associated with the mother.  (Is it first
associated with the nurse if the breast feeding is done by one?  What
about infants who are not breast fed -- do they associate "mama" to
the bottle?)

I think I read this in Play, Dream's and Imitiation in Childhood where
Piaget construes "mama" as being an circular reaction which is an
imitation of sucking.

Is there any evidence for or against a theory like this?

-Nick

PS I generally haven't been following this thread, so I appologize if
this post is somehow redundent.


