Fused sentence?

Question

At first, babies produce a limited number of sounds. By ten months a baby's babbling reflects the consonant-vowel and intonation patterns of the child's language community.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

AnonymousAt first, babies produce a limited number of sounds. By ten months a baby's babbling reflects the consonant-vowel and intonation patterns of the child's language community.

I don't understand the question. Are you asking if the baby is creating fused sentences, or if the excerpt is an example of a fused sentence?
I don't see anything unusual about the excerpt. Are you having trouble parsing it?

1st sentence: babies produce X.
2nd sentence: babbling reflects X.

I guess I don't know what a fused sentence is.
I guess I should look it up.

Avangi · Answer

Hmmm, a comma splice without the comma. (two independent clauses, not properly connected.)
The first clause is a complete sentence, ending with a period at "sounds."

You must be parsing the second sentence incorrectly.
At first, babies produce a limited number of sounds. By ten months a baby's babbling reflects the consonant-vowel and intonation patterns of the child's language community.

"By ten months" has the same function in the second sentence which "at first" has in the first sentence. Perhaps you feel it should be followed by a comma, as in the case of the first one. I agree. Maybe it's a typo.

The second sentence is also a single independent clause.
The simple subject is "babbling." The simple predicate (or verb) is "reflects."
Everything which follows "reflects" describes what the babbling reflects.
It reflects the patterns. That's it!
What kind of patterns are we talking about? "consonant-vowel and intonation patterns."
These are patterns made up of basic sounds, stresses, risings and fallings of the voice.
Where do these patterns come from? From the community which surrounds the child. He copies them.

Where's the problem?

Back to the first sentence: At first (comma), the baby does X.
Second sentence: At second (no comma) the baby does X. (At second = By ten months)
Sorry if that's confusing.

This is the only thing I see that might be causing a problem.

Are you possibly trying to include "By ten months" as part of the first sentence?

Fused sentence?

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