CDS

Question 1

What is Child Directed Speech (CDS)?

Answer 1

A communication style used by caregivers to support child language acquisition and development

CDS includes various features that enhance language accessibility for children.

Question 2

List key features of Child Directed Speech.

Answer 2

• Higher or melodic pitch
• More frequent or longer pauses
• Repetition
• Grammatically simpler sentences
• More questions (including tag questions and known answer questions)
• Use of (proper) nouns rather than pronouns
• Politeness features
• Use of diminutives
• Expansion
• Recasts
• Mitigated imperatives

These features collectively help make language more understandable and engaging for children.

Question 3

What is the significance of using a higher or melodic pitch in CDS?

Answer 3

It captures the child’s attention and makes the language more engaging

This feature helps to stimulate interest and encourage interaction.

Question 4

What does ‘expansion’ refer to in the context of CDS?

Answer 4

Elaborating on the child’s utterance to provide more information

For example, responding to ‘doggie!’ with ‘yes, that’s right, it’s a small, black doggie!’

Question 5

What are ‘recasts’ in Child Directed Speech?

Answer 5

Repeating a child’s utterance but providing a correct version of it

For example, correcting ‘I runned’ to ‘You ran, did you?’

Question 6

Fill in the blank: CDS often includes the use of _______ to suggest a smaller version of something.

Answer 6

[diminutives]

Question 7

True or False: CDS includes the use of complex grammatical structures.

Answer 7

False

CDS typically features grammatically simpler sentences to aid comprehension.

Question 8

What are mitigated imperatives in CDS?

Answer 8

Commands disguised as questions

For example, asking ‘Shall we tidy up these toys?’ instead of directly commanding.

Question 9

Why do caregivers use more questions in CDS?

Answer 9

To encourage interaction and engagement from the child

This includes tag questions and known answer questions.

Question 10

What role do pauses play in Child Directed Speech?

Answer 10

They provide the child time to process language and respond

Longer pauses can signal that the caregiver is waiting for a response.

Question 11

Fill in the blank: The frequent use of the collective pronoun ‘we’ in CDS is an example of _______.

Answer 11

[politeness features]