The term “Baby Talk” first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary
in 1836, so it has been around for a long time. It is probably something
your parent’s did with you and their parent’s did with them; thus, making it
hard to stop the pattern. Plus, it is also common to see parents and
caregivers talking to their little ones in this way on TV shows and
movies.
Some people seem to be
familiar with the term “Motherese” while others have never heard of it. However,
it simply means “baby talk”. Motherese brings with it the idea that
it is something that only mothers do. Whereas baby talk is
more gender neutral. In our politically correct society many now prefer
the term “Parentese” to “Motherese”. Most child development experts use
the term “child-directed speech” or “infant-directed speech”.
Definition of Baby
Talk/ Motherese
Exactly what is motherese/parentese/baby
talk? As mentioned above, most people define motherese in pretty much the
same way as they would define baby talk. Let’s look at the key points in
the definition:
- using frequent variations in pitch and intonation (think cooing pattern – “ooh ah who’s a cute baby?” – almost a sign song voice)
- using short sentences often omitting grammar (telegraphic speech)
- repetition of words or phrases
- using made up words. Some common ones include: tata (give me), boo-boo (wound, hurt), moo moo (cow), potty (toilet), num num (eat), soosie, paci, binkie (soother/pacifier) etc.
- speaking in the 3rd person. For example, “give it to mommy”, or “mommy sees you”
- for a full definition and history of motherese and baby talk, click here.
To sum up, baby talk or
motherese is how most parents communicate with their babies and often toddlers
(and sometimes even preschoolers). Whichever term you decide to
use, remember that they all refer to a pattern of speech consisting of the
points mentioned above. For the remainder of this post we will use the
term “baby talk”.
Should
parents baby talk or not?
The answer is a bit of yes and
a bit of no. There are aspects to baby talk that you should stop, from a
speech development perspective. However, it may be easier said than done
for some parents.
We will start with the
positive aspects of baby talk and then we will move on to the aspects which I
do not prefer.
Positives of
baby talk for language development
Babies are hearing new sounds
everyday. The pitch variation and slow drawn out sounds of baby talk
holds the attention of babies/toddlers. They are fascinated by this
intonation. It can also give them
clues about the meaning of a sentence as a baby won’t be able to understand
all words right away.
When using baby talk, certain
sounds are exaggerated more than others allowing babies to start differentiating between sounds.
It also makes it easier for a baby to determine where one word ends and
another begins. Some researchers believe that babies whose parents
used baby talk have larger vocabularies
as toddlers.
Also, when babies first learn
to speak, their words and even sounds are not clear. This is not because
they were exposed to baby talk, it is because they physically are unable to produce certain sounds because the muscles of
the mouth, tongue, throat, etc are
not fully developed. Babies naturally coo in attempts to communicate.
This often gets parents to reciprocate with baby talk. Even when a
parent coos back in complete gibberish, the baby is taking it all in. It
is also teaching the baby the give and take aspects of a conversation.
Babies are smart and are ready to
communicate before they are physically able to!
Using short sentences with
repetition signals to the baby which words are important and therefore should
be remembered. For example “I see your shoes. Do you see your shoes. Those
are nice shoes.”
Negatives of
baby talk for language development
Baby talk is fine if your child is a baby (not a toddler or a preschooler).
A baby is under 12 months of age. For the purposes of baby talk, a
baby is between 0 and 9 months of age. A baby actually understands a lot
more than they are given credit for. Studies have shown that when babies
around 6 months of age are given a card with 4 pictures on it and the word for
one of these pictures is spoken, the baby will look longer at the picture
matching the spoken word than any of the other pictures on the card.
Because babies understand more
than adults often think, it makes sense to talk to them the way you would
talk to an older child or adult. You can
still use some more exaggerated inflection and intonation to keep their attention
but you do not need to use sentences like “did baby go poopy?”, why not say
“did you poop?” instead.
Your goal should be to model appropriate vocabulary and grammar to your
child, especially as your child gets older.
Start using real words as soon as possible. Try to cut out true made
up words like “num num”, “tata”, etc. Saying words like “uh oh” or
“doggy” are fine. The more real
words your child hears, the larger his vocabulary will be.
Also, refrain
from speaking in the 3rd person.
In some Kindergarten classrooms
where the teacher is still speaking in 3rd person. You can hear the teacher (Mrs. Smith for example) say something
like “Mrs. Smith wants everyone to go sit on the carpet”. Meanwhile a child
working for speech therapy has the goal “to correctly use the pronouns I,
me and my in sentences”, for example. You can see how hard it is for this
child to learn the correct use of pronouns when he is not hearing it used
correctly by adults.
Think about it, would you say
to your friend “Mary wants to go out for lunch, would Beth like to join
Mary?”. I doubt it. You would say “I want to go out for
lunch, would you like to join me?”.
Small children, including
babies will learn to understand when you speak to them the way you would speak
to others.
“Baby Talk” - “Telegraphic Speech”.
Telegraphic speech is when grammar is omitted from a sentence. For
example “Where did your ball go?” vs. “where ball go?”.
However, researcher Marc Fey*
and others recently found that using telegraphic speech may actually
hinder a child’s language development, especially if the child has a language
delay.
A child needs to hear correct
grammar in order for them to use it.
When you are using baby talk
to speak with your child, you are basically changing the tone of your voice and
simplifying words and grammar. However, remember that you want your child to
speak properly, the way an adult would speak. So it won’t help them to keep
simplifying the language, especially as they get older.
Should I stop
the baby talk?
No! Baby talk is fine and can be beneficial to learning a language. The
bottom line is:
- Use short sentences that contain grammar
- Use intonation and pitch variations
- Use real words (they don’t have to be the most complex form of the word, but make sure it is a real word)
- Imitate your babies sounds to encourage back and forth conversation when your baby is under 6-9 months, but make sure you are also using real sentences with grammar and real words.
- Once a baby is older than 6 months refrain from speaking in the 3rd person
- Don’t feel guilty of using the 3rd person, you won’t harm your child. But start trying to pay more attention to how you speak to your toddler. See how many times you catch yourself saying things like “give it to mommy”. Once you are aware you will be able to start using “me” or “I” more often.
- Remember to play and have fun with your baby! There are so many great things for her to learn.
If your son is only 3, it is perfectly normal for him not to pronounce
every word the way an adult one. You should try not to correct him too much as
this can lead to frustration on his end. Rather, model what you want him to
say. So if he said “look there`s the bacuum“, you could say “you are right,
that is a vacuum“ putting extra emphasis on the word “vacuum“. But don`t
as that he repeats it. Also replacing a “b“ for a “v“ is still quite normal for
a 3 year old. As long as most people are understanding about 75% of what he
says, don`t be worried. He will learn all of
these sounds.
However there are many parents
and caregivers who do not stop the baby talk despite the child being older. Many
parents get into a habit of using motherese that they don’t even realize they
are doing it. While there probably aren’t any negative long term effects to
speaking this way, it does sound a bit silly to other adults who may be around.
And if used excessively, baby talk can temporarily influence a child`s use and development
of proper grammar, or lack thereof, but it shouldn`t effect their overall
ability to speak.
May be not everyone will agree
with this article regarding baby talk and that is fine. Also, some of the
ages used in this article are meant to serve as guidelines. Let us know
what your thoughts are in the comments below. Will you or did you use
baby talk?
*Fey, M. (2008) The (mis-)use
of telegraphic input in child language intervention. Revista de Logopedia,
Foniatría y Audiología 2008, Vol. 28, No. 4, 218-230
Posted by Kids
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