Human newborns are cognitively and socially competent. Although they are sensitive to the presence of a social partner, little is known on the emergence of the ability to partake in social interaction. In this study we aimed to explore the roots of turn‐taking in the neonatal period. We wished to highlight the way mothers' and newborns' vocalizations are organized in relation to each other in a face‐to‐face communication situation. We observed 15 mothers and their 2 to 4‐day‐old newborns while mothers were instructed to speak to them and infants were in a receptive behavioural state. We examined the temporal organization of maternal and newborn vocalization. Our results show that of all newborn vocalizations analysed, one third consisted of overlapping vocalizations with a maternal vocalization. Furthermore, among the 119 newborn vocalizations that followed a maternal vocalization, 68.9% occurred within the first second, and 26.9% were latched (occurring within the first 50 ms). Indeed our study suggests that a 1‐s window would be the correct window to appreciate social contingency in the neonatal period. Our study provides evidence that a turn‐taking ability is already present at birth suggesting that turn taking, which depends on a tight coordination between interacting individuals, is a precocious human ability. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.