T-Rex: The words for "mother" and "father" are really similar, if not identical, across tons of languages! And the reason isn't because the languages are closely related. It's due to a way more awesome reason!
T-Rex: It's because parents totally assume their babies are talking about them!
T-Rex: It's so amazing: "ma", "pa" are some of the first and easiest language-like sounds babbling babies make - and what's the word for "mother" in English? "Mama"! And it's also "mama" in Dutch, and in Romanian, and in Catalan, Slovak, Quechua, Chinese, German, Russian, and MORE. The languages have evolved such that the first language noise a baby makes sounds like it's saying "Hey mom, what's up?"
Utahraptor: And dads made the same deal too! "Papa" is in English, Cree, and Hindi!
T-Rex: Neat!
Utahraptor: It's kinda awesome that these words are built to flatter new parents.
T-Rex: Man, it's great! Across language, time, and entire civilizations, we're united by pointing at our babbling babies and saying, "Yes. This child is DEFINITELY talking about me."
T-Rex: Hooray for egoism!
