The Conversation How mother tongue moulds us
Mar 16, 2026
Núria Sebastián Gallés, cognitive psychologist who studies how babies learn multiple languages, and Aneta Pavlenko, linguist focused on bilingualism and language and emotion, discuss how early exposure shapes perception. They talk about infant language discrimination, emotional effects of switching tongues, live social learning, shifting identities, and how trauma, therapy and migration influence which language feels ‘home’.
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Cradle Bilinguals Learn Multiple Languages Naturally
- Babies can grow up hearing two languages from birth and become fluent in both without special cognitive 'tools'.
- Núria Sebastián Gallés became a 'cradle bilingual' listening to Spanish and Catalan and later learned French and English naturally.
Using Russian To Discipline Her Child
- Language can signal different emotional registers within one speaker's life and parenting style.
- Aneta Pavlenko says she raised her child using Russian for reprimands so her son knew she 'really, really mean[s] it.'
Languages Shape Object Categories Differently
- Languages carve categories differently so objects are classified by different criteria across tongues.
- Aneta contrasts English 'cup' as a functional category versus Russian чашка which requires a handle and porcelain shape.