Child- directed speech (CDS)

Child- directed speech (CDS)

1. Academic term for lang used by adults / caregivers when addressing children

2. Phonology

   • Separate phrases more distinctly (longer pauses)
   • Speak more s-l-o-w-l-y
   • Exaggerated 'singsong' intonation
   • Exaggerated diff between Q, statements & commands
   • Higher & wider range of pitch

3. Lexis & semantics

   • Use of concrete nouns (e.g. train, cat) & dynamic verbs (e.g. give, put)
   • Adopt child's own words for things (e.g. wickle babbit)
   • Frequent use of child's name & absence of pronouns

4. Grammar

   • Repeated sentence frames = 'That's a...'
   • More simple sentences
   • Fewer complex sentences & passives
   • Omission of past tense & inflections
   • More command, Qs & tag Qs = keep convo flowing
   • Use of EXPANSIONS
     • Where the adult 'fills out' the child's utterance
   • Use of RECASTING
     • Where child's vocab put into a new utterance

5. Pragmatics

   • Lots of gestures & body lang
   • Stopping frequently for child to respond
   • Supportive lang

6. Clarke - Stewart 1973

   • Children whose mothers talk to them more have larger vocab

7. Nelson 1973

   • Holophrastic stage
   • Children whose mothers corrected them on word choice & pronunciation actually advanced more SLOWLY than those w/ mothers who were gen accepting

8. Kuhl 1992

   • Studied exaggerated vowel sounds used by parents when speaking to 6 month olds (in Eng, Swedish, & Russian)
   • Babies turn towards adults who speak in sing - song voice, ignoring regular convo
   • Mothers in all 3 countries exaggerated important vowels

9. IMPORTANT

   • NOT ALL CULTURES USE CHILD - DIRECTED SPEECH
   • In some (non - western) cultures babies are expected to 'blend in' w/ adult interaction & no special accommodation is made
     • These children STILL go through some developmental stages at roughly some time, as long as there is EXPOSURE to lang