# Babies, dogs, and the riddles of word learning

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/many-minds-510509/babies-dogs-and-the-riddles-of-word-learning
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/many-minds-510509/babies-dogs-and-the-riddles-of-word-learning.md
Podcast: [Many Minds](https://stenobird.com/podcast/many-minds-510509)
Published: 2026-05-22T17:07:00+00:00
Episode link: https://manyminds.libsyn.com/babies-dogs-and-the-riddles-of-word-learning
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/manyminds/Babies-dogs-and-the-riddles-of-word-learning.mp3?dest-id=1868261
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/many-minds-510509/episodes/babies-dogs-and-the-riddles-of-word-learning
Duration seconds: 4720

## Resource

It's kind of astonishing, really, that kids ever learn words. Each one poses a little riddle. Does this sound string refer to a person? A category of things? Or maybe some other feature of the blooming, buzzing world? And yet word learning happens. In fact, we now know it begins earlier in infancy than we realized. And we now know, further, that dogs (or at least some dogs) understand words as well. So how does this happen? What do babies and dogs really know about words? And how might we go about figuring this all out? My guests today are Dr. Elika Bergelson and Dr. Claudia Fugazza . Elika is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, where her lab studies how infants learn language. Claudia is a Researcher at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, where she and her collaborators study dogs who are especially gifted word learners . In this conversation, Elika, Claudia, and I talk about the thorny question of what it means to understand a word—and whether there are different degrees or kinds of understanding. We consider the challenges posed by different types of words—by nouns, by names, by verbs, by function words, size terms, and more. We discuss why it is that some dogs are so good at learning words, and why infants of a certain age seem to get so much better at it. We talk about learning in different contexts and situations. And we circle the question of how different word learning really is in dogs and babies. Alright friends, before we get to it, one tiny ask: If you've been enjoying Many Minds, you can help us grow by leaving a review or comment or a rating, or by sharing us with a friend or colleague. We would greatly appreciate the support! Without further ado, on to my interview with Claudia Fugazza and Elika Bergelson. Enjoy…

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## Transcript

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