Language

"It is evident that in order for children to develop language, the little child must be brought into a society of adults who talk amongst themselves. There is nothing more logical than this, because language is not like a flower or a tree; it is something very complicated, and unless a child is brought among people who use it, it will be impossible for him to acquire it.

Perhaps this is the reason why small children start out in life without the ability to move; they will always need to be carried around by their mothers and therefore they are brought into the environment… You see, there is a natural advantage to this immobility. In the old days in our country, and nowadays still in countries like India, mothers carry their babies to the bazaar. The child looks at everything while the mother bargains – there are long discussions. Friends join in and converse with the mother so the child hears a great deal of talking and the child hears the modulation of the language, repeated over and over."

Maria Montessori, The London Lectures