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Related Experiment Videos

How the prosodic cues in motherese might assist language learning.

D G Kemler Nelson, K Hirsh-Pasek, P W Jusczyk

    Journal of Child Language
    |February 1, 1989
    PubMed
    Summary

    Infants use the unique prosody of motherese to identify grammatical units in speech. This sensitivity to speech segmentation cues is specific to motherese, aiding language acquisition.

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    Area of Science:

    • Developmental Psychology
    • Linguistics
    • Cognitive Science

    Background:

    • Motherese, or child-directed speech, is characterized by distinct prosodic features.
    • Previous research indicates infants can segment speech streams into clauses using prosody.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate if the prosodic features of motherese facilitate syntax acquisition.
    • To determine if infants' sensitivity to prosodic speech segmentation cues is specific to motherese.

    Main Methods:

    • Infants aged 0;7-0;10 were tested for their orientation to speech interrupted at clausal boundaries versus within-clause locations.
    • Speech stimuli included both motherese and adult-directed speech.

    Main Results:

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  • Infants showed a selective preference for motherese interrupted at clausal boundaries.
  • This preference was not observed for adult-directed speech, indicating sensitivity to motherese-specific cues.

    • Conclusions:

    • The prosody of motherese provides infants with crucial cues for segmenting speech into grammatical units.
    • Motherese plays a fundamental role in supporting the learning of syntax by young children.