Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-03T14:57:31.915Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Structure and function of baby talk in a day-care centre

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Maria Luisa Morra Pellegrino  and
Alda Scopesi
Maria Luisa Morra Pellegrino*
Affiliation:
Universita' di Genova
Alda Scopesi
Affiliation:
Universita' di Genova
*
*Istituto di Antropologia, Via Balbi 4, 16126 Genova, Italy.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine how caretakers speak to young children in a day-care centre and particularly to investigate how they adjust their language, according to children's age and to size of groups. Five Italian teachers were observed, each one during six different sessions. Children's ages were 0;10–1;2 and 2;6–3;0. The number of children varied from a rather large group (seven children) to a small group (three children) to a single child. Language was taperecorded during free-play sessions of ten minutes. Context was noted by two observers. Transcripts were analysed according to structural features (syntactical complexity, redundancy, type-token ratio, speed) and functional features (proportion of utterances with different purpose: control and organization of child behaviour, empathy, conversation and teaching). Results show some significant differences in structure and function according to children's age and group size.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , February 1990 , pp. 101 - 114
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Cross, T. (1977). Mothers' speech adjustments: the contribution of selected child listener variables. In Snow, C. E. & Ferguson, C. A. (eds), Talking to children. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
D'Odorico, L. & Franco, F. (1985). The determinants of baby talk: relationship to context. Journal of Child Language 12. 567–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emiliani, F. (1982). Azione concreta e rappresentazione sociale: uno studio su operatrici di asili nido. Giornale Haliano di Psicologia IX. 143–61.Google Scholar
Emiliani, F. & Zani, B. (1983). Strategie interattive e rappresentazioni sociali in operatrici di asilo nido. Età evolutiva 14. 90–5.Google Scholar
Ferguson, C. A. (1977). Baby talk as a simplified register. In Snow, C. E. & Ferguson, C. A. (eds), Talking to children. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Longhurst, T. & Stephanich, L. (1975). Mothers' speech addressed to one- two- and threeyear-old normal children. Child Study Journal 5. 3–11.Google Scholar
Lucariello, J. & Nelson, K. (1986). Context effects on lexical specificity in maternal and child discourse. Journal of Child Language 13. 507–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCartney, K. (1984). Effect of quality of day care environment on children's language development. Developmental Psychology 2. 244–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, L. & Pien, D. (1982). Mother conversational behaviour as a function of interactional intent. Journal of Child Language 9. 337–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nelson, K. (1973). Structure and strategy in learning to talk. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 49. No. 149.Google Scholar
Phillips, S. (1973). Syntax and vocabulary of mothers' speech to young children: age and sex comparison. Child Development 44. 182–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rondal, J. A. (1981). On the nature of linguistic input to language – disordered children. International Journal of Psycholinguistics 21. 75–107.Google Scholar
Schaffer, R. & Crook, C. K. (1979). Maternal control techniques in a directed play situation. Child Development 50. 989–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaffer, H. R. & Liddel, C. (1984). Adult-child interaction under dyadic and polyadic conditions. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 2. 33–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snow, C. E. (1977). Mothers' speech research: from input to interaction. In Snow, C. E. & Ferguson, C. A. (eds), Talking to children. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Snow, C. E., Perlmann, R. & Nathan, D. (1987). Why routines are different? Toward a multiple-factors model of the relation between input and language acquisition. In Nelson, K. E. & Van Kleeck, A. (eds), Children's language, vol. 6. New York: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Tizard, B., Phillips, J. & Plewis, J. (1976). Staff behaviour in preschool centres. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 17. 21–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wells, C. G. & Robinson, W. P. (1982). The role of adult speech in language development. In Fraser, C. & Scherer, K. R. (eds), Advances in the social psychology of language. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Zani, B., Emiliani, F. & Carugati, F. (1980). Staff control techniques and linguistic style in a day nursery. Italian Journal of Psychology 2. 149–62.Google Scholar