Child Directed Speech Revision Are there are variations due to
the gender of the caregiver? Research has suggested that fathers
are more demanding than mothers, using more direct questions and a
wider range of vocabulary. What effects do you think this kind of
speech has on children? Some claim that it retains the attention of
the child, others that it makes language more accessible. Some
claim that children learn by repetition can this explain the fact
that children can produce sentences which they have never heard
before? Others claim that babytalk actually interferes with
language development because children learn babyish words and
sentences instead of the real language. Not every culture uses such
forms of child-directed speech. In Samoa and Papua New Guinea,
adults speak to children as they speak to adults, and children
acquire language at the same pace as elsewhere.
Slide 2
Phonology Slower, clearer pronunciation More pauses, especially
between phrases and sentences Higher pitch Exaggerated intonation
and stress
Slide 3
Lexis Simpler, more restricted vocabulary Diminutive forms
(e.g. doggie) Concrete language, referring to objects in the childs
immediate environment
Slide 4
Grammar Simpler constructions Frequent use of imperatives High
degree of repetition Repeated sentence frames, using the same
sentence structure, changing one part every time, e.g. Thats a
Frequent questions Use of personal names instead of pronouns (e.g.
Mummy not I) Frequent use of childs name Absence of past tenses
Reduced number of plurals and possessives (e.g. planets, Mummys)
Fewer verbs, modifiers and adjectives Large number of one-word
utterances Deixis used to point childs attention to objects or
people Use of expansions, where the adult fills out the childs
utterance Use of re-castings, where the babys vocabulary is re-used
in a new utterance
Slide 5
Theories Clarke-Stewart (1973) Children whose mothers talk to
them more have larger vocabularies. Nelson (1973) Children whose
mothers corrected them on word choice and pronunciation actually
advanced more slowly than those with mothers who were generally
accepting. Children often make virtuous errors mistakes that show
an overextension of a grammatical rule, e.g. They throwed him in
Kuhl (1992) Studied exaggerated vowel sounds used by parents when
speaking to 6-month olds (in English, Swedish and Russian). Babies
turn towards adults who speak in sing- song voice, ignoring regular
conversation. Mothers in all three countries exaggerated the
important vowels.
Slide 6
Theories Bruner: Social interactive approach puts forward idea
that interactions between child and carer are crucial to lang
development and help children develop important abilities such as
turn-taking. Importance of conversations, routines of social
interaction, Must be LASS (support system) as well as LAD. Parents
provide ritualised scenarios bath, meal, getting dressed phrases of
interaction rapidly recognised and predicted Lee Vygotsky - a
Russian pyschologist had similar views to Piaget. He also believed
that collaborative play has an influence and essential part in a
child's early development. In instances where the emphasis is put
more on play than teaching a child is required to stretch their
cognitive abilities in and understanding new concepts or ideas
without even realising they are being taught. Vygotsky said "What a
child can do in co-operation today, he can do alone tomorrow".
Slide 7
Object Permanence Jean Piagets idea that children of about
eight or nine months of age develop awareness/the idea that objects
continue to exist even when one cannot see them. Before this stage,
as far as the infant is concerned, items that are not within
eyesight range do not exist. Piaget developed this theory by
conducting very simple tests with infants involving blankets and
toys. If the child was old enough to know about object permenance
than when he covered the toy with a blanket, they would still try
to reach for it. If the child was not at that stage, they would
move on. Example: Young babies who have not yet developed a sense
of object permanence often seem particularly delighted by peek-a-
boo or other games involving a vanishing person or object.