Rhythm is alive, though it is not (and never was) the whole story.

Abstract

Most infants learn their native language, or native languages, if they grow up in a multilingual environment, with amazing speed and apparent ease. Developmental research has taught us that many of these acquisitions begin in the first year of life and has started to specify early developmental trajectories across various languages. One issue that has caught early attention in the field is the question of when and how infants discriminate languages and start recognizing their native language. The present study reviews the literature on this issue, highlighting the influence of rhythm, pointing toward limitations and raising questions for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).