View source for Baby talk

{{Short description|Type of speech associated with an older person speaking to a child}}
{{About|speech directed at babies|speech-like sounds produced by babies|babbling|other uses}}

{{anchor |abbreviations}}'''Baby talk''' is a type of speech associated with an older person speaking to a child or infant. It is also called '''caretaker speech''', '''infant-directed speech''' ('''IDS'''), '''child-directed speech''' ('''CDS'''), '''child-directed language''' ('''CDL'''), '''caregiver register''', '''parentese''', '''fatherese''' or '''motherese'''.<ref>{{Cite book|editor-last=Karlík|editor-first=Petr|editor-last2=Nekula|editor-first2=Marek|editor-last3=Pleskalová |editor-first3=Jana|title=Nový encyklopedický slovník češtiny|last=Kubaník|first=Pavel|year=2017 |chapter-url=https://www.czechency.org/slovnik/BABY%20TALK|chapter=BABY TALK|language=cs}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Matychuk |first1=Paul |title=The role of child-directed speech in language acquisition: a case study |journal=Language Sciences |date=May 2005 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=301–379 |doi=10.1016/j.langsci.2004.04.004 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lawrence.edu/stu/bereya/welcome.html |title=Gender Differences in Child-Directed Speech |first=Adam |last=Berey |date=March 18, 2005 |publisher=[[Lawrence University]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808195202/http://www2.lawrence.edu/stu/bereya/welcome.html |archivedate=2017-08-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Herrera |first1=Eisquel |last2=Reissland |first2=Nadja |last3=Shepherd |first3=John |title=Maternal touch and maternal child-directed speech: effects of depressed mood in the postnatal period |journal=Journal of Affective Disorders |date=July 2004 |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=29–39 |doi=10.1016/j.jad.2003.07.001 |pmid=15183597 |url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/2579/1/2579.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Ghada Khattab |title=Does child-directed speech really facilitate the emergence of phonological structure? The case of gemination in Arabic CDS |url=http://aune.lpl.univ-aix.fr/~labphon10/abstracts/92.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061127114004/http://aune.lpl.univ-aix.fr/~labphon10/abstracts/92.pdf |archive-date=November 27, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pinker |first1=Steven |title=The Language Instinct: How The Mind Creates Language |date=2010 |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=978-0-06-203252-2 |page=28 }}</ref>

CDS is characterized by a "sing song" pattern of [[intonation (linguistics)|intonation]] that differentiates it from the more monotone style used with other adults e.g., CDS has higher and wider [[Pitch (music)|pitch]], slower speech rate and shorter utterances.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fernald |first1=Anne |title=Four-month-old infants prefer to listen to motherese |journal=Infant Behavior and Development |date=April 1985 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=181–195 |doi=10.1016/s0163-6383(85)80005-9 }}</ref> It can display [[vowel hyperarticulation]] (an increase in distance in the [[Formant|formant space]] of the [[Peripheral vowel|peripheral vowels]] e.g., [i], [u], and [a])<ref name="Mommy 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Lam |first1=C |last2=Kitamura |first2=C |title=Mommy, speak clearly: induced hearing loss shapes vowel hyperarticulation |journal=Developmental Science |date=2012 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=212–221 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01118.x |pmid=22356177 }}</ref> and words tend to be shortened and simplified. There is evidence that the exaggerated pitch modifications are similar to the affectionate speech style employed when people speak to their pets (pet-directed speech).<ref name="science.sciencemag.org">{{cite journal |last1=Burnham |first1=D |last2=Kitamura |first2=C |last3=Vollmer-Conna |first3=U |title=What's New, Pussycat? On Talking to Babies and Animals |journal=Science |date=2002 |volume=296 |issue=5572 |page=1435 |doi=10.1126/science.1069587 |pmid=12029126 |s2cid=27313730 }}</ref> However, the hyperarticulation of vowels appears to be related to the propensity for the infant to learn language, as it is not exaggerated in speech to infants with hearing loss or to pets.<ref name="science.sciencemag.org"/><ref name="Mommy 2011"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lam |first1=C |last2=Kitamura |first2=C |title=Maternal interactions with a hearing and hearing impaired twin: similarities in pitch exaggeration but differences in vowel hyperarticulation |journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research |date=2010 |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=543–55 |doi=10.1044/1092-4388(2010/09-0126) |pmid=20220028 }}</ref>

==Terminology ==
* The first documented use of the word ''baby-talk'', according to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', was in 1836.
* ''Motherese'' and ''parentese'' are more precise terms than ''baby talk'', and perhaps more amenable to computer searches, but are not the terms of choice among [[Developmental psychology|child development]] professionals.{{Citation needed|date=December 2014}} Critics of [[gender role|gender stereotyping]] also prefer ''parentese''<ref>{{cite web|website=earlyliteracylearning.org|title=Talk to Me...in Parentese!
|url=http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org/cellpract_parent/infants/PG_1_I_Talk2Me.pdf |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref> to the term ''motherese'', because all caregivers use distinct speech patterns and vocabulary when talking to young children.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Phayes|first=Donald|title=Speaking and writing: Distinct patterns of word choice|journal=Journal of Memory and Language|date=October 1988|volume=27|issue=5|pages=572–585|doi=10.1016/0749-596X(88)90027-7|doi-access=free}}</ref> ''Motherese'' can also refer to English spoken in a higher, gentler manner, which is otherwise correct English, as opposed to the non-standard, shortened word forms.<ref>{{cite book|last=Newport|first=E.L.|title=Talking to children: Language input and acquisition|pages=109–150|author-link=Mother, I'd rather do it myself: Some effects and non effects of maternal speech style|author2=Gleitman, L.|editor=C.E. Snow & C.A. Ferguson|year=1977}}</ref>
*''Child-directed speech'' (''CDS'') is the term preferred by researchers, psychologists and child development professionals.<ref>{{cite book|title=Parenthood in America: A-M|url=https://archive.org/details/parenthoodameric00balt|url-access=limited|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/parenthoodameric00balt/page/n108 75]|quote=developmental psychologists refer to this kind of language to young children as child-directed speech|isbn=978-1-57607-213-4|author1=Lawrence Balter |author2=Robert B. McCall |year=2000}}</ref>
*''Infant-directed speech'' (''IDS'') is also used. The terms are interchangeable.
*''Caregiver language'' is sometimes used.

==Characteristics==
CDS is a clear and simplified strategy for communicating to younger children, used by adults and by older children. The vocabulary is limited, speech is slowed with a greater number of pauses, and the sentences are short and grammatically simplified, often repeated.<ref name=Harley>{{cite book |last=Harley |first=Trevor |title=Talking the Talk: Language, Psychology and Science |url=https://archive.org/details/talkingtalklangu00harl |url-access=limited |year=2010 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-1-84169-339-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/talkingtalklangu00harl/page/n74 60]–62}}</ref> Although CDS features marked auditory characteristics, other factors aid in development of language. Three types of modifications occur to adult-directed speech in the production of CDS:<ref name="Mcleod" />
* linguistic modifications, particularly [[prosody (linguistics)|prosody]], including the simplification of speech units as well as the emphasis on various phonemes.  
* modifications to attention-gaining strategies, providing visual cues through [[body language]], particularly movements of the face, to more effectively maintain the attention of their infants.  
* modifications to the interactions between parents and infants. Parents use CDS not only to promote language development but to foster a positive relationship with their infants.

The younger the child, the more exaggerated the adult's CDS is. The attention of infants is held more readily by CDS over normal speech, as with adults.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fernald |first1=Anne |last2=Mazzie |first2=Claudia |title=Prosody and focus in speech to infants and adults. |journal=Developmental Psychology |date=1991 |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=209–221 |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.27.2.209 }}</ref> The more expressive CDS is, the more likely infants are to respond to this method of communication by adults.<ref name=Singh>{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Leher |last2=Morgan |first2=James L. |last3=Best |first3=Catherine T. |title=Infants' Listening Preferences: Baby Talk or Happy Talk? |journal=Infancy |date=1 July 2002 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=365–394 |doi=10.1207/s15327078in0303_5 |pmid=33451217 |citeseerx=10.1.1.511.8150 }}</ref>

A key visual aspect of CDS is the movement of the lips.<ref name=Green>{{cite journal |last1=Green |first1=Jordan R. |last2=Nip |first2=Ignatius S. B. |last3=Wilson |first3=Erin M. |last4=Mefferd |first4=Antje S. |last5=Yunusova |first5=Yana |title=Lip Movement Exaggerations During Infant-Directed Speech |journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research |date=December 2010 |volume=53 |issue=6 |pages=1529–1542 |doi=10.1044/1092-4388(2010/09-0005) |pmid=20699342 |pmc=3548446 }}</ref> One characteristic is the wider opening of the mouth present in those using CDS versus adult-directed speech,<ref>{{cite report |title=Child-directed speech and its role in language acquisition |date=2016 |pages=15 |url=https://www.grin.com/document/419408 }}{{unreliable source?|date=April 2020}}</ref> particularly in vowels. Research suggests that with the larger opening of the lips during CDS, infants are better able to grasp the message being conveyed due to the heightened visual cues.<ref name=Green />

Through this interaction, infants are able to determine who positive and encouraging caregivers will be in their development. When infants use CDS as a determinant of acceptable caregivers, their cognitive development seems to thrive because they are being encouraged by adults who are invested in the development of the given infants.<ref name="Schachner"/> Because the process is interactive, caregivers are able to make significant progress through the use of CDS.<ref name=Green />

==Purpose and implications==

===Use with infants===
Studies have shown that from birth, infants prefer to listen to CDS, which is more effective than regular speech in getting and holding an infant's attention.<ref>Kathy L. Reschke, Ph.D. (2002), Ohio State University, [http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm02/FS08.html "Baby Talk"] {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20061122100847/http%3A//ohioline%2Eosu%2Eedu/flm02/FS08%2Ehtml |date=November 22, 2006 }}  [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20061122100847/http%3A//ohioline%2Eosu%2Eedu/flm02/FS08%2Ehtml Archived copy] at the [[Library of Congress]] (November 22, 2006).</ref> 
Some researchers<ref name="Shore-1997">Shore, Rima. (1997). ''Rethinking the brain: New insights into early development''. New York: Families and Work Institute.</ref> believe that CDS is an important part of the emotional bonding process between the parents and their child, and helps the infants learn the language. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Wisconsin found that using basic “baby talk” may support babies in picking up words faster.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boyles |first1=Salynn |date=March 16, 2005 |title=Baby Talk May Help Infants Learn Faster |url=https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20050316/baby-talk-may-help-infants-learn-faster |work=WebMD }}</ref> Infants pay more attention when parents use CDS, which has a slower and more repetitive tone than used in regular conversation.

CDS has been observed in languages other than English.<ref name="Singh et al 2009"/>

Purposes and benefits of CDS include supporting the ability of infants to bond with their caregivers.<ref name=Green />

Children that learn the fastest are those who receive the most acknowledgement and encouragement of what they say, are given time and attention to speak and share, and who are questioned.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Waterson |first1=Natalie |last2=Snow |first2=Catherine E. |title=The development of communication |date=1978 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-99628-6 |pages=199–216 }}</ref> Infants are able to apply this to larger words and sentences as they learn to process language.<ref name="Mcleod">{{cite journal |last1=McLeod |first1=Peter J. |title=What studies of communication with infants ask us about psychology: Baby-talk and other speech registers. |journal=Canadian Psychology |date=1993 |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=282–292 |doi=10.1037/h0078828 }}</ref>

CDS aids infants in bonding to caregivers. Although infants have a range of social cues available to them regarding who will provide adequate care, CDS serves as an additional indicator as to which caregivers will provide developmental support. When adults engage in CDS with infants, they are providing positive emotion and attention, signaling to infants that they are valued.<ref name=Schachner>{{cite journal |last1=Schachner |first1=Adena |last2=Hannon |first2=Erin E. |title=Infant-directed speech drives social preferences in 5-month-old infants. |journal=Developmental Psychology |date=2011 |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=19–25 |doi=10.1037/a0020740 |pmid=20873920 }}</ref>

CDS can also serve as a priming tool for infants to notice the faces of their caregivers. Infants are more sensitive to the pitch and emphasized qualities of this method. Therefore, when caregivers use CDS, they expand the possibility for their infants to observe and process facial expressions. This effect could in part be due to infants associating CDS with positive facial expressions such as smiling, being more likely to respond to CDS if they expect to receive a positive response from their caregiver.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kaplan |first1=Peter S. |last2=Jung |first2=Paula C. |last3=Ryther |first3=Jennifer S. |last4=Zarlengo-Strouse |first4=Patricia |title=Infant-directed versus adult-directed speech as signals for faces. |journal=Developmental Psychology |date=1996 |volume=32 |issue=5 |pages=880–891 |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.32.5.880 }}</ref>

CDS may promote processing of word forms, allowing infants to remember words when asked to recall them in the future. As words are repeated through CDS, infants begin to create mental representations of each word. As a result, infants who experience CDS are able to recall words more effectively than infants who do not.<ref name="Singh et al 2009">{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Leher |last2=Nestor |first2=Sarah |last3=Parikh |first3=Chandni |last4=Yull |first4=Ashley |title=Influences of Infant-Directed Speech on Early Word Recognition |journal=Infancy |date=November 2009 |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=654–666 |doi=10.1080/15250000903263973 |pmid=32693515 }}</ref>

Infants can pick up on the vocal cues of CDS and will often pattern their [[babbling]] after it.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goldstein |first1=Michael H. |last2=Schwade |first2=Jennifer A. |title=Social Feedback to Infants' Babbling Facilitates Rapid Phonological Learning |journal=Psychological Science |date=May 2008 |volume=19 |issue=5 |pages=515–523 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02117.x |pmid=18466414 |s2cid=17373701 }}</ref>

Children of [[major depressive disorder|depressed]] mothers, who do not regularly use CDS, display delayed language development. Even when depressed mothers provide their infants with positive faces, infants do not respond to their attempts at CDS, and in turn do not benefit from this important route for language acquisition. Infants are unable to create the link between speech and visual face movements in situations such as these. When fathers who are not depressed are able to provide the stimulation of CDS, infants respond well and are able to compensate from the deficit left by their mothers. This too can inhibit language and speech development. Therefore, this deficit can be especially harmful to infants with depressed mothers and little contact with male caregivers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kaplan |first1=Peter S. |last2=Dungan |first2=Jessica K. |last3=Zinser |first3=Michael C. |title=Infants of Chronically Depressed Mothers Learn in Response to Male, But Not Female, Infant-Directed Speech. |journal=Developmental Psychology |date=2004 |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=140–148 |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.40.2.140 |pmid=14979756 }}</ref> [[Socioeconomic status]] has been found to influence the development of vocabulary and language skills. Lower-status groups tend to be behind the development of children in higher-status families. This finding is thought to be due to the amount of time parents spend with the child and the ways they interact; mothers from higher-status groups are found to say more to their children, use more variety, and speak in longer sentences.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hoff |first1=Erika |title=The Specificity of Environmental Influence: Socioeconomic Status Affects Early Vocabulary Development Via Maternal Speech |journal=Child Development |date=October 2003 |volume=74 |issue=5 |pages=1368–1378 |doi=10.1111/1467-8624.00612 |pmid=14552403 |citeseerx=10.1.1.324.4930 }}</ref>

====Aid to cognitive development====
Shore and others believe that CDS contributes to [[Cognitive development|mental development]] as it helps teach the child the basic function and structure of language.<ref name="Shore-1997" /> Studies have found that responding to an infant's babble with meaningless babble aids the infant's [[language acquisition|development]]; while the babble has no logical meaning, the verbal interaction demonstrates to the child the bidirectional nature of speech, and the importance of verbal feedback. Some experts advise that parents should not talk to young children solely in baby talk, but should integrate some normal adult speech as well. The high-pitched sound of CDS gives it special acoustic qualities which may appeal to the infant.<ref name="Goodluck 1991">{{cite book |last1=Goodluck |first1=Helen |title=Language Acquisition: A Linguistic Introduction |date=1991 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-631-17386-1 }}{{page needed|date=April 2020}}</ref> CDS may aid a child in the acquisition and/or comprehension of language-particular rules which are otherwise unpredictable;<ref name="Goodluck 1991"/> an example is the reduction or avoidance of pronoun reversal errors.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kaznatcheev |first1=Artem |s2cid=24218139 |title=A Connectionist Study on the Interplay of Nouns and Pronouns in Personal Pronoun Acquisition |journal=Cognitive Computation |date=27 May 2010 |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=280–284 |doi=10.1007/s12559-010-9050-7 }}</ref> It has been also suggested that it is crucial for children to acquire the ability to ask questions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jordania |first1=Joseph |title=Who Asked the First Question: The Origins of Human Choral Singing, Intelligence, Language and Speech |date=2006 |isbn=978-99940-31-81-8 |title-link=Who Asked the First Question? |publisher=Logos }}</ref>

===Use with non-infants===
The use of baby talk is not limited to interactions between adults and infants, as it may be used among adults, or by people to animals. In these instances, the outward style of the language may be that of baby talk, but is not considered actual "parentese", as it serves a different linguistic function {{xref|(see: [[Pragmatics]])}}.

====Patronizing or derogatory baby talk====
Baby talk and imitations of it may be used by one non-infant to another as a form of [[verbal abuse]], in which the talk is intended to infantilize the victim. This can occur during [[bullying]], when the aggressor uses baby talk to assert that the victim is weak, cowardly, overemotional, or otherwise inferior.<ref>Green, Alison (May, 2018)  [http://www.askamanager.org/ Ask a Manager]  "Ask a Manager"</ref>

====Flirtatious baby talk====
Baby talk may be used as a form of [[flirting|flirtation]] between sexual or romantic partners. In this instance, the baby talk may be an expression of tender intimacy, and may perhaps form part of affectionate [[sexual roleplay]]ing in which one partner speaks and behaves childishly, while the other acts motherly or fatherly, responding in "parentese".<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Real Reason Why Couples Use Baby Talk| author = Leon F Seltzer Ph.D|journal = Psychology Today, Evolution of the Self|date=2013|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolution-the-self/201312/the-real-reason-why-couples-use-baby-talk}}</ref> One or both partners might perform the child role. Terms of endearment, such as ''poppet'' (or, indicatively, ''baby''), may be used for the same purpose in communication between the partners.

====<span id="Pet-directed speech">Baby talk with pets</span>====
Many people speak to their dogs as if they were another human being. These actions are not providing communication with the dog, but social interactions for the speaker, usually in order to solve some problem.<ref name=coren2000>{{cite book |last1=Coren |first1=Stanley |title=How to Speak Dog: Mastering the Art of Dog-human Communication |date=2000 |publisher=Free Press |isbn=978-0-684-86534-8 }}</ref>{{rp|304–306}} The speaking style people use when talking to dogs is very similar to CDL and has been referred to as ''Doggerel''.<ref name=Hirsh-Pasek>{{cite journal |last1=Hirsh-Pasek |first1=Kathy |last2=Treiman |first2=Rebecca |title=Doggerel: motherese in a new context |journal=Journal of Child Language |date=26 September 2008 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=229–237 |doi=10.1017/s0305000900003731 |pmid=7061632 |s2cid=43212598 }}</ref> People tend to use sentences of around 11 words when talking to another adult; this is reduced to four words when speaking to a dog. People employ more imperatives or commands to a dog, but ask twice as many questions of the dog as of other humans, even though they do not expect the dog to answer. Recordings show that 90% of pet-talk is spoken mostly in the present tense because people talk to dogs about what is happening now rather than the past or the future, which is twice as much as with humans. Also, people are 20 times more likely to repeat or rephrase themselves to dogs than they do to humans.

A significant difference is that CDL contains many more sentences about specific bits of information, such as "This cup is red," because they are intended to teach children about language and the environment. Pet-speech contains perhaps half the sentences of this form, as, rather than instructive, its primary purpose is as a social function for humans; whether the dog learns anything does not seem to be a major concern.<ref name=coren2000/>{{rp|308–310}} However, [[Human–animal communication#Humans communicating to dogs|dogs are capable of recognizing specific words]] and responding accordingly, which means that some information can be transmitted when a human talks to a dog.

As well as the raised vocal pitch, pet-speech strongly emphasizes intonations and emotional phrasing. There are diminutives such as ''walkie'' for ''walk'' and ''bathie'' for ''bath''.

====Foreigner talk====
{{main|Creole language#Foreigner talk and baby talk}}
When addressing a listener not skilled in the speaker's language, people may simplify their spoken language in an attempt to improve understanding.<!-- citations are in article linked from {{main}} --> Some use gestures to communicate with others, especially if hearing is limited, although this is not always understood by people, as some gestures may be difficult to interpret by some people, especially as gestures have different meanings from place to place, so they may use a baby-talk–like language to communicate, leaving out small words and possibly using demonstratives instead of pronouns, for example ''Do not cross the road'' becoming ''No cross road''. While this kind of simplification could be helpful for, say, foreign tourists, this type of communication is perceived as rude or offensive in some societies, because it may cause the foreigner to feel infantilized. It can also be considered insulting if the foreigner is skilled in the speaker's language. While not considered to be actual parentese, it has aspects which make the two language styles similar.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ferguson |first1=Charles A. |chapter=Absence of Copula and the Notion of Simplicity: A Study of Normal Speech, Baby Talk, Foreigner Talk and Pidgins |pages=141–150 |chapter-url={{Google books|wG08AAAAIAAJ|page=141|plainurl=yes}} |editor1-last=Hymes |editor1-first=Dell |title=Pidginization and Creolization of Languages |date=1971 }}</ref>

==Universality and differences by region==
Researchers Bryant and Barrett (2007)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bryant |first1=Gregory A. |last2=Barrett |first2=H. Clark |title=Recognizing Intentions in Infant-Directed Speech |journal=Psychological Science |date=6 May 2016 |volume=18 |issue=8 |pages=746–751 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01970.x |pmid=17680948 |s2cid=14371346 }}</ref> have suggested (as have others before them, e.g., [[Anne Fernald|Fernald]], 1992<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fernald |first1=Anne |author-link1=Anne Fernald |date=1992 |chapter=Human maternal vocalizations to infants as biologically relevant signals |pages=391–428 |chapter-url={{Google books|BjhdDgAAQBAJ|page=391|plainurl=yes}} |editor1-last=Barkow |editor1-first=Jerome H. |editor2-last=Cosmides |editor2-first=Leda |editor3-last=Tooby |editor3-first=John |title=The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-510107-2 }}</ref>) that CDL exists universally across all cultures and is a species-specific adaptation.<ref name="Peer Review Journal">{{cite journal |last1=Grieser |first1=DiAnne L. |last2=Kuhl |first2=Patricia K. |title=Maternal speech to infants in a tonal language: Support for universal prosodic features in motherese. |journal=Developmental Psychology |date=1988 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=14–20 |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.24.1.14 }}</ref> Other researchers contend that it is not universal among the world's cultures, and argue that its role in helping children learn grammar has been overestimated, pointing out that in some societies (such as certain [[Samoa]]n tribes),<ref name="Shore-1997" /> adults do not speak to their children at all until the children reach a certain age.<!-- see talk page for more sources to integrate, for ethnic groups where adults do not speak to infants at all --> Furthermore, even where baby-talk is used, it has many complicated grammatical constructions, and mispronounced or non-standard words.

Other evidence suggests that baby talk is not a universal phenomenon: for example Schieffelin & Ochs (1983) describe the [[Kaluli people|Kaluli]] tribe of Papua [[New Guinea]] who do not typically employ CDS.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ochs |first1=Elinor |last2=Schieffelin |first2=Bambi B. |chapter=Language Acquizition and Socialization: Three Developmental Stories and Their Implications |pages=296–328 |chapter-url={{Google books|ptk9xUamLeUC|page=296|plainurl=yes}} |editor1-last=Duranti |editor1-first=Alessandro |title=Linguistic Anthropology: A Reader |date=2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-2633-5 }}</ref> Language acquisition in Kaluli children was not found to be significantly impaired.

The extent to which caregivers rely on and use CDS differs based on cultural differences. Mothers in regions that display predominately introverted cultures are less likely to display a great deal of CDS, although it is still used.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johnston |first=Judith R. |last2=Wong |first2=M.-Y. Anita |date=2002 |title=Cultural Differences in Beliefs and Practices Concerning Talk to Children |url=http://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/1092-4388%282002/074%29 |journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research |language=en |volume=45 |issue=5 |pages=916–926 |doi=10.1044/1092-4388(2002/074) |issn=1092-4388|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Further, the personality of each child experiencing CDS from a caregiver deeply impacts the extent to which a caregiver will use this method of communication.<ref name=Green />

CDS has been seen in languages such as [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], [[British English]], [[American English]], [[French language|French]], and [[German language|German]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=Robin Panneton |last2=Aslin |first2=Richard N. |title=Preference for Infant-Directed Speech in the First Month after Birth |journal=Child Development |date=October 1990 |volume=61 |issue=5 |pages=1584–95 |doi=10.2307/1130766 |jstor=1130766 |pmid=2245748 }}</ref> This is the basis for claims that CDS is a necessary aspect of social development for children.<ref name="Mcleod" /> Although found in many cultures, CDS is far from universal in terms of style and amount of use.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lieven |first1=Elena V. M. |year=1994 |chapter=Crosslinguistic and crosscultural aspects of language addressed to children |pages=56–73 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511620690.005 |editor1-last=Gallaway |editor1-first=Clare |editor2-last=Richards |editor2-first=Brian J. |title=Input and Interaction in Language Acquisition |isbn=978-0-521-43725-7 }}</ref> A factor found to influence the way adults communicate with children is the way the culture views children. For example, if they view children as helpless and unable to understand, adults tend to interact with children less than if they believe that children are capable of learning and understanding. Often, cultures lacking a form of CDS make up for it in other ways, such as involving the children more in everyday activities, though the reverse might also be a valid assessment.<ref name=Harley />

==Vocabulary and structure==

===Vocabulary===

With respect to English-speaking parents, it is well-established<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quirk |first1=R |year=1974 |title=The linguist and the English language |location=London |publisher=Arnold |page=138 }}</ref> that Anglo-Saxon or Germanic words tend to predominate in informal [[Register (sociolinguistics)|speech registers]], whereas Latinate vocabulary is usually reserved for more formal uses such as legal and scientific texts. Child-directed speech, an informal speech register, also tends to use Anglo-Saxon vocabulary. The speech of mothers to young children has a higher percentage of having native Anglo-Saxon verbs than speech addressed to adults.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Phillips |first1=Juliet R. |title=Syntax and Vocabulary of Mothers' Speech to Young Children: Age and Sex Comparisons |journal=Child Development |date=March 1973 |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=182–185 |doi=10.2307/1127699 |jstor=1127699 }}</ref> In particular, in parents’ CDS the clausal core<ref>{{cite book |last1=Foley |first1=W. A. |last2=Van Valin |first2=R. D. Jr. |year=1984 |title=Functional syntax and universal grammar |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press }}{{page needed|date=April 2020}}</ref> is built in the most part by Anglo-Saxon verbs, namely, almost all tokens of the [[grammatical relations]] subject-verb, verb-direct object and verb-indirect object that young children are presented with, are constructed with native verbs.<ref name="Ninio">Ninio, A. (2011). Syntactic development, its input and output. Oxford: Oxford University Press.{{page needed|date=April 2020}} Introduction accessible at {{cite web|url=http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/13/9780199565962_prelim.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-07-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101071744/http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/13/9780199565962_prelim.pdf |archive-date=2012-11-01 }}</ref> The Anglo-Saxon verb vocabulary consists of short verbs, but its grammar is relatively complex. Syntactic patterns specific to this sub-vocabulary in present-day English include periphrastic constructions for tense, aspect, questioning and negation, and phrasal lexemes functioning as complex predicates, all of which occur also in CDS.
As noted above, baby talk often involves shortening and simplifying words, with the possible addition of slurred words and nonverbal utterances, and can invoke a vocabulary of its own. Some utterances are invented by parents within a particular family unit, or are passed down from parent to parent over generations, while others are quite widely known and used within most families, such as ''wawa'' for water, ''num-num'' for a meal, ''ba-ba'' for bottle, or ''beddy-bye'' for bedtime, and are considered standard or traditional words, possibly differing in meaning from place to place.

Baby talk, language regardless, usually consists of a muddle of words, including names for family members, names for animals, eating and meals, bodily functions and genitals, sleeping, pain, possibly including important objects such as diaper, blanket, pacifier, bottle, etc., and may be sprinkled with nonverbal utterances, such as ''goo goo ga ga''. The vocabulary of made-up words, such as those listed below, may be quite long with terms for a large number of things, rarely or possibly never using proper language, other times quite short, dominated by real words, all nouns. Most words invented by parents have meaning, although the nonverbal sounds are usually meaningless and just fit the speech together.

=== Diminutives ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2024}}
Standard adult English words can be derived into baby talk following certain rules of transformation. In [[English language|English]], adding a terminal {{IPA|/i/}} sound, usually written ⟨ie⟩, ⟨y⟩, or ⟨ey⟩, is a common way of forming diminutives often used as part of baby talk. Many languages have similar mechanisms {{xref|(see also: [[List of diminutives by language]])}}.

===Duplications===
<!-- PROVE IT OR IT'S OR: Most standard baby talk words consist of a single syllable [[reduplication|duplicated]], such as ''mama'', ''dada'', ''poo-poo'', ''pee-pee'', ''baba'', ''boo-boo'', ''bot-bot'', ''num-num'', ''dum-dum'' and ''wee-wee''. These are often imitations of a baby's first utterances which take the shape of a word. These are made when the child takes a stressed syllable of the main word to shorten it and repeats it to form a word-like utterance{{Citation needed|date=December 2014}}. Words with similar sounds from stressed syllables, such as ''mama'', ''dada'' and ''baba''{{original research inline|date=April 2013}}include:

*''ba-ba'' from ''bottle''
*''dum-dum'' from ''dummy'' (British term for a pacifier)
*''mama'' from ''mother''
*''dada'' from ''daddy''

Words can be made diminutive with an /i/ sound at the end, reduplicated, but the first letter of the duplication replaced with a /w/- for example ''teensy-weensy'', ''puppy-wuppy'' or ''binkie-winkie''. Realistic language examples following this same pattern known as '''partial duplications''' or ''modified duplications'' include ''okey-dokey'', ''silly-billy'', ''mumbo-jumbo'' and ''super-duper'', which use the first phoneme as the point of modification. However, these patterns are more common in colloquial language and slang than formal English and rarely use a /w/ for modification.{{original research inline|date=April 2013}}

Many baby-talk words for animals involve reduplication of the onomatopoeia of the sound they make, including:
*''moo-moo'' (cow)
*''neigh-neigh'' (horse)
*''baa-baa'', sometimes written as ''ba-ba'' (sheep)
Others, which do not relate to animals, include ''vroom-vroom'' (car) and ''choo-choo'' (train).{{original research inline|date=April 2013}}

====Differences in pronunciation====
Other transformations mimic the way infants mistake certain consonants which in English can include turning /l/ into /w/ as in ''wuv'' from ''love'' or ''widdo'' from ''little'', or in pronouncing /v/ as /b/, and /ð/ or /t/ as /d/, and /θ/ as /f/ or /s/. It is a way of imitating how a baby or young child speaks, because most babies, when they start talking, talk as though they have a [[speech disorder]] because they mistake certain consonants. This usually is outgrown by the age of five or six.{{original research inline|date=April 2013}}
-->
Still other transformations, but not in all languages, include elongated vowels, such as ''kitty'' and ''kiiiitty'', (emphasized {{IPA|/ɪ/}}) meaning the same thing. While this is understood by English-speaking toddlers, it is not applicable with Dutch toddlers as they learn that [[vowel length|elongated vowels]] reference different words.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.therapytimes.com/content=9901J84C48969C8440A040441 |title=Native Language Governs Toddlers' Speech Sounds |date=2007-10-23 |publisher=therapytimes.com |access-date=2007-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202034427/http://www.therapytimes.com/content=9901J84C48969C8440A040441 |archive-date=2008-02-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Babbling]]{{dash}}sounds that babies make before they learn to talk
* [[Crib talk]]{{dash}}toddlers talking to themselves
* [[Developmental psychology]]
* [[Elderspeak]]{{dash}}the style of speech used by younger people when talking to older people
* [[Mama and papa]]{{dash}}the early sounds or words commonly used by babies
* [[Girneys]]{{dash}}sounds similar to baby talk that are used by some large monkeys
* [[Hypocorism]]{{dash}}such as diminutive shortening of titles, such as pet names and reductions of longer words to single syllables by adding {{IPAc-en|-|i}} (⟨-y⟩ or ⟨-ie⟩) to the end

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9215/baby.htm The Uses of Baby Talk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228120349/http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9215/baby.htm |date=2007-02-28 }} by Naomi S. Baron of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics

{{Infants and their care}}
{{Parenting}}

[[Category:Psycholinguistics]]
[[Category:Language varieties and styles]]
[[Category:Infancy]]