Look Who's Talking NOW! Parentese Speech, Social Context, and Language Development Across Time
Nairán Ramírez-Esparza1,2, Adrián García-Sierra1,2, Patricia K Kuhl3
1Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, StorrsCT, United States.
Frontiers in Psychology
|July 6, 2017
Summary
One-on-one interactions, particularly parentese speech, in infancy positively impact language development. This effect persists, with later standard speech also influencing word production, mediated by early parentese exposure.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Linguistics
- Child Development
Background:
- Infant social interactions, including speech style and context, influence language ability.
- Previous findings linked parentese speech in one-on-one settings to vocabulary at 24 months.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine changes in caregiver-child social interactions from infancy to childhood.
- To investigate the longitudinal relationships between speech style, social context, and language learning.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 30 participants previously studied at 11-14 months, re-evaluating at 33 months.
- Assessed social interactions via home-based, first-person digital audio recordings.
- Analyzed speech style (parentese vs. standard) and social context (one-on-one vs. group).
Main Results:
- Caregivers used less one-on-one parentese and more one-on-one standard speech as children aged.
- The positive impact of infant parentese speech-1:1 on language development persisted to 33 months.
- Childhood exposure to standard speech-1:1 was linked to concurrent word production and mediated the effects of infant parentese speech.
Conclusions:
- One-on-one social interactions in infancy and childhood are crucial for language development.
- Early parentese speech-1:1 has lasting effects, with later standard speech-1:1 playing a mediating role in language acquisition.
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