YOUR AMAZING BODY

THE brain develops the accent we’ll speak with before we’re even born, a German study found.

University of Wurzburg researchers analysed 60 babies’ cries days after birth. Half had German parents, the rest French. Scientists found a distinct difference in the melody and tone of the cries, correlating with the parents’ accents. French cries tended to have a rising melody, while the German cries were more likely to be falling. It is thought newborns may already be trying to imitate patterns they heard in the womb.