* Capacity: Babies are born with the innate ability to perceive and process language. Their brains are wired to recognize patterns in sounds, and they are incredibly sensitive to the nuances of speech. This is known as "universal phoneme perception".
* Ability: However, babies are not born with the ability to produce or understand any specific language. This develops over time through exposure and interaction. As they are exposed to a particular language, they start to differentiate the sounds, learn the grammar, and eventually acquire the ability to speak and understand it.
Think of it like a blank canvas. Babies have the canvas (capacity), but they need the paint (exposure to language) to create a picture (ability).
Here are some key factors that influence a baby's ability to learn language:
* Exposure: The more exposure a baby has to a language, the better they will learn it.
* Interaction: Babies learn best through active interaction with caregivers. This can be through speaking, singing, reading, or playing.
* Age: While the brain is most "plastic" in the early years, learning a language is possible throughout life. However, the younger a child is, the easier it is to acquire a language fluently.
Therefore, while babies are not born with the ability to speak any language, they are born with the remarkable capacity to learn any language they are exposed to. This capacity, coupled with the right environment and interaction, allows babies to become fluent speakers in a short period.