Memolines~Observing a toddler learning to talk
As I am exploring creative ways of using Generative AI, I often think: Large Language Models are trained with a lot of knowledge in order to be creative, but it is not yet as magical as our brains.
It's fascinating to watch my toddler learn to talk.
The first English word she learned was "no". Later, she started emphasizing it by saying "no no no no." One time during pickup, another little girl was interested in her backpack and tried to touch it. She immediately said "no no no no" and went to protect her bag. At just over a year old, she wasn't just developing language skills but also showing a sense of possession. Toddlers this age don't know how to share yet - when they have something, they want to keep it and don't understand taking turns. She used "no" to express exactly this feeling.
She switches between languages every day. At daycare, it's all English, and she understands right away when teachers ask "Want crackers?" At home, we mostly speak Chinese, so she moves into a Chinese environment. She knows “crackers” in Chinese is “饼干”. What surprises me is that she can tell apart Chinese words that sound the same. She has one picture book with a gorilla (猩猩) and another with stars (星星) - when I say "xīng xīng," she knows to get both books. How did she understand those different words using the same sound? It's quite amazing.
Her language skills have grown noticeably. She picks up on things we say casually, like using "盖盖" (cover) when she wants to close the curtains. We usually use "盖盖" for putting lids on things, but she applied it to curtains - how creative!
Recently, she started putting five words together, saying things like "爸爸的肚肚” (Daddy's belly) and "妈妈的眼睛” (Mommy's eyes). Sometimes she uses reversed word order, like “妈妈苹果吃” (Mommy apple eat). When I ask, "Do you mean ‘妈妈吃苹果’(Mommy eats apple)?" she nods seriously and says "嗯(mm-hmm)". Even though she can't make complete sentences, I can tell she understands.
She says interesting things sometimes. Not long after learning about cake, she randomly said “蛋糕" (cake) then muttered "甜“(sweet).
I asked, "蛋糕甜不甜(Is the cake sweet)?"
She said "甜(sweet)."
“蛋糕香不香(Is it fragrant)?"
"香 (Fragrant)."
“蛋糕好吃不好吃 (Is it yummy)?"
"好吃(Yummy)!"
Such a fun moment.
As she understands more, communication has gotten easier. When it was time to give up the pacifier, I told her the pacifier went on vacation. She seemed to accept this, and when she asked again, I'd remind her it's on vacation, and after some time she forgot about it. I don't know how we would have managed otherwise.
Sometimes I think the brain is like a mystery box - you never know when they'll make progress, maybe it just clicks suddenly, and understanding falls into place. As I am exploring creative ways of using Generative AI, I often think: Large Language Models are trained with a lot of knowledge in order to be creative, but it is not yet as magical as our brains.