How many languages can you learn at the same time? – Ghanaian babies grow up speaking two to six languages

(Press-News.org) The study, which examined 121 babies aged three to twelve months in Accra, the capital of Ghana, demonstrates a remarkable variety of language input in the early months of life. The children are regularly exposed to two to six languages. Strikingly, the number of caregivers the children have also ranges between two and six, and babies who have more adults in their daily lives who regularly take care of them also hear more different languages. In Ghana, families often live in so-called “compound buildings”, where many everyday interactions take place in the courtyard, where family, neighbors and other relatives play an important role in the lives of children.

“The idea that a child learns only one particular language from a single caregiver, as is often assumed in Western cultures, does not apply to these communities. Rather, children are surrounded by a rich spectrum of linguistic inputs from the very beginning,” says Paul O. Omane, the first author of the study. “The majority of studies on children's language acquisition have been conducted in Western industrialized nations, which is why they often focus on a rather narrow conception of multilingualism. Our research shows that other societies show a much more vibrant multilingual environment,” the study's lead researcher, Prof. Dr. Natalie Boll-Avetisyan adds.

A key finding of the study is the distinction between direct and indirect language input. While English is primarily acquired through indirect channels such as television and official communication, children receive most of the local languages (such as Akan, Ga and Ewe) through direct contact with their caregivers. Accordingly, the proportion of direct input is higher in the local languages than in English, which is predominantly present as indirect input.

It is often emphasized how important direct language contact is for language acquisition,” Natalie Boll-Avetisyan says. ”However, our results suggest that indirect input – especially through media and official communication – also plays an essential role in the children’s daily lives, particularly in urban contexts.”

As a result of their empirical study, the researchers call for a broader view in language research. The common assumptions do not reflect the diversity and complexity found in other cultural contexts such as Ghana. The study makes it clear that it is not only the number of languages a child hears, but also the diversity of people and the different forms of input that have a decisive influence on language acquisition. “Our research shows that for many children, a multilingual environment is a dynamic, vibrant reality from the very beginning. Multilingualism is not just a bonus, but a fundamental part of children's identity and social structure,” the researcher says.

The study on the Internet:
Omane, P. O., Benders, T., & Boll-Avetisyan, N. (2025). Exploring the nature of multilingual input to infants in multiple caregiver families in an African city: The case of Accra (Ghana). Cognitive Development. In press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101558

Contact: Prof. Dr. Natalie Boll-Avetisyan, Professor for Developmental Psycholinguistics
Mail: natalie.boll-avetisyan@uni-potsdam
Telephone: 0331 977-2374

Media information 26-02-2025 / No. 019
Matthias Zimmermann

Universität Potsdam
Referat Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
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14469 Potsdam
Tel.: +49 331 977-1474
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E-Mail: presse@uni-potsdam.de
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