--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Babies and language are the essential…" description: "\"Babies and language are the essential ingredients of civilization, and speakers of language no more know where it came from than babies know where they..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/charlton-laird-34745_babies_babies-and-language-are-the-essential-in_64509.jpg" --- # Babies and language are the essential ingredients of… ![“Babies and language are the essential ingredients of civilization, and speakers of language no more know where it came from than babies know where they come from.” quote by Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/charlton-laird-34745_babies_babies-and-language-are-the-essential-in_64509.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/charlton-laird-34745_babies_babies-and-language-are-the-essential-in_64509.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/charlton-laird-34745_babies_babies-and-language-are-the-essential-in_64509.jpg) > “Babies and language are the essential ingredients of civilization, and speakers of language no more know where it came from than babies know where they come from.” [Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human language and infant development are foundational to civilization, yet both are mysterious origins that even speakers cannot trace. **In simple terms:** Language and babies are core to society, but their origins are unknown. Key Takeaway Civilization rests on language and early human development. Themes civilization language development mystery Mood reflective curious Type philosophical sociocultural When to use this quote - early childhood education - language policy debates - anthropological research Key Concepts cultural foundations cognitive emergence Practical Applications - design curricula that nurture language in infants - preserve linguistic diversity Questions to Reflect On - Why do we accept language as a given without questioning its origins? - How might recognizing this mystery change education? A Different Perspective It may overstate the equivalence of biological ignorance and cultural complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Babies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babies/) [Babies Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babies-know-783093/) [Babies Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babies-language-864700/) [Baby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baby/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Essentials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials/) [Ingredients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ingredients/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-know-275359/) [Speakers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speakers/) ## Related quotes > [I have the happiest, most confident babies, and I know it's because they feel that strong love from their parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-james-decker/i-have-the-happiest-most-confident-babies-and-i-know-it-s-because/) [Jessie James Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-james-decker/) > [The world is a very complicated place, as babies know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mumford/the-world-is-a-very-complicated-place-as-babies-know/) [David Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mumford/) > [Native speakers of a language know intuitively whether a sentence is grammatical or not. They usually cannot specify exactly what is wrong, and very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-farb/native-speakers-of-a-language-know-intuitively-whether-a-sentence-is/) [Peter Farb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-farb/) > [“Not babies perhaps. But I know about young things. Foals, puppies, calves, piglets. Even hunting cats. I know if you want them to trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/not-babies-perhaps-but-i-know-about-young-things-foals-puppies-calves/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“In a room filled with babies, you will know yours from his cry. 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She said it was crucial that parents tell their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/rather-dolto-insisted-that-the-content-of-what-you-say-to-a-baby/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [“Over the water of time I call to you In a language I do not know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-s-jaffe/over-the-water-of-time-i-call-to-you-in-a-language-i-do-not-know/) [Ellen S Jaffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-s-jaffe/) > [Fashion is a language. Some know it, some learn it, some never will - like an instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/fashion-is-a-language-some-know-it-some-learn-it-some-never-will-like/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [Language, as we know, is full of illogicalities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-myrdal/language-as-we-know-is-full-of-illogicalities/) [Gunnar Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-myrdal/) > [God speaks in a language you know best Not through your ears But through you circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/god-speaks-in-a-language-you-know-best-not-through-your-ears-but/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) ## More by Charlton Laird > [Quite naturally, scholars assumed that Latin grammar was not merely Latin grammar, but that it was grammar itself. They borrowed it and made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-laird/quite-naturally-scholars-assumed-that-latin-grammar-was-not-merely/) [Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) > [The great arbiters of language are the women who speak it in the presence of children... What the women pass on to the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-laird/the-great-arbiters-of-language-are-the-women-who-speak-it-in-the/) [Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) > [You and I who read and write books have very little effect upon language. We may think about it, write about it, and read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-laird/you-and-i-who-read-and-write-books-have-very-little-effect-upon/) [Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) > [An amoeba is a formless thing which takes many shapes. It moves by thrusting out an arm, and flowing into the arm. 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It must survive in men's minds and on their tongues if it survives at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-laird/language-is-a-living-thing-it-must-survive-in-men-s-minds-and-on/) [Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) > [ The truth seems to be that they \[teachers of grammar\] were victims of a mighty hoax, one of those true belly-rumbling impostures which a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-laird/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-they-teachers-of-grammar-were-victims-of-a/) [Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) > [Man can be defined, if one wishes, as a languag-ized mammal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-laird/man-can-be-defined-if-one-wishes-as-a-languag-ized-mammal/) [Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) > [Grammar is not a set of rules; it is something inherent in the language, and language cannot exist without it. 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A good swimmer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-laird/most-people-can-swim-a-narrow-river-water-is-an-alien-element-but/) [Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) [Explore all 14 Charlton Laird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) ## More Babies quotes > [When I'm on Twitter, we just talk to people. I call all my Twitter followers my 'Twitter babies.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rozonda-thomas/when-i-m-on-twitter-we-just-talk-to-people-i-call-all-my-twitter/) [Rozonda Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rozonda-thomas/) > [If all fooles had babies, wee should want fuell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/if-all-fooles-had-babies-wee-should-want-fuell/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Yes, I'm a nice man and I enjoy babies. I'm a sensitive guy. 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I have a marginally higher opinion of them than Herod, she said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-mcgown/you-like-babies-don-t-you-he-asked-i-have-a-marginally-higher-opinion/) [Jill McGown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-mcgown/) > [God looks out for fools and babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meshell-ndegeocello/god-looks-out-for-fools-and-babies/) [Meshell Ndegeocello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meshell-ndegeocello/) > [“Babies who do not sleep ‘through the night’ alone in a cot, as soon as possible after birth, are seen as a ‘problem’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/babies-who-do-not-sleep-through-the-night-alone-in-a-cot-as-soon-as/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [Babies don't need a vacation, but I still see them at the beach... it pisses me off! 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