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Doggerel: motherese in a new context*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek  and
Rebecca Treiman
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
Rebecca Treiman
Affiliation:
Indiana University
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Abstract

Four master–dog dyads were studied to determine whether the language that is used in speaking to dogs (doggerel) resembles the language that is used in speaking to children (motherese). The structural properties of doggerel are strikingly similar to those that have been reported for motherese. Certain differences between motherese and doggerel may arise in functional and social areas. The similarities between the two language registers suggest that motherese is not elicited in response to either the linguistic level or the cognitive/intellectual level of the child. Rather, the social responsiveness of the listener may be sufficient to elicit the motherese register.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , February 1982 , pp. 229 - 237
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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