this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2026
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Can't remember where I heard this, but I believe the terms themselves evolved around common infant mouth sounds. Hence why so many languages use the term "mama" for mother.
The baby makes random sounds, meaning is ascribed to them by the parents, the baby is given positive feedback and starts to make those sounds more frequently, and then the meaning eventually sticks for the child once they actually begin developing language.
This is what I’ve heard as well. Ba/~~Da~~/Ma/Pa are the first sounds we interpret as “words” coming from babies.
My first words were "boba" and "kiki" but my parents were both abstract two-dimensional shapes so that might have affected things.
not Da as that is not bilabial
What about dad's labia?
Is Ma?
According to (German) Wikipedia M is not part of the list of bilabial sounds
how is M not a bilabial sound!?
a bilabial consanant is one made with only your lips.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_bilabial_nasal
Args, actually wanted to comment here
https://sopuli.xyz/comment/25031727
If you can make an ‘m’ sound with only one lip I would certainly like to hear it.
I was thinking the same
But I've never heard that word before and just looked it up in Wikipedia. And there they state to list all of them, but I didn't see an 'm' - which I would put in as well, if I understood the definition correctly
That's my point, I'm not sure, if I miss something here or the article just isn't correct/complete
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilabial