Role of adults in CLD Flashcards
(19 cards)
Role of adults in language
Main communicators with children
What is child-directed speech?
The term that refers to the non-standard form of language used by adults towards children
What has child-directed speech previously been known as?
baby talk, motherese and parentese
What did Catherine Snow study?
Studies ‘mother’s speech’ to their children of varying ages
What did Snow find?
The language used towards 2 year-olds was simpler than language used towards 10 year-olds
What is significant about Snow’s findings?
Language is easier in order to facilitate a child’s language development as well as being easier to comprehend
Characteristics of CDS
- More pronounced intonation (draws attention to key morphemes)
- Simplified vocabulary (establishes key words)
- Repeated grammatical frames (draws attention to new elements within that frame)
Critisism of CDS
CDS is not believed to take place in other cultures around the world such as in places like Samoa and Papua New Guinea
Why does this not take place in these cultures?
Children in these environments don’t seem to be affected by the lack of verbal interaction
What important factors are there to consider with the BH
1) The amount of time a child spends with one parent compared to the other
2) The developmental stage of the child at any given point in life
What did Davidson and Snow find? (1996)
Fathers won’t use as many politeness strategies as mothers and they also have smaller MLU’s (mean length of utterances)
Why do fathers have shorter MLU’s than mothers
Because mother’s speak more meaning they have longer MLU’s than fathers
What does Gleason’s Bridge Hypothesis show?
Secondary parents use more complex language to challenge children
Why is it good to challenge children?
It helps them to develop more useful linguistic skills
What is an example of challenging children linguistically?
talking to strangers, discussing abstract concepts and reading
What are 2 important factors to consider regarding the Bridge hypothesis?
1) The amount of time a child spends with one parent compared to the other
2) The developmental stage of the child at a specific given point in life
Overall findings of gender and CDS:
The fathers and mothers speech is more similar the more balanced the time spent with the child
