ERIC Number: EJ1234174
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: N/A
Routine Language: Speech Directed to Infants during Home Activities
Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S.; Custode, Stephanie; Kuchirko, Yana; Escobar, Kelly; Lo, Tiffany
Child Development, v90 n6 p2135-2152 Nov-Dec 2019
Everyday activities are replete with contextual cues for infants to exploit in the service of learning words. Nelson's (1985) script theory guided the hypothesis that infants participate in a set of predictable activities over the course of a day that provide them with opportunities to hear unique language functions and forms. Mothers and their firstborn 13-month-old infants (N = 40) were video-recorded during everyday activities at home. Transcriptions and coding of mothers' speech to infants--time-locked to activities of feeding, grooming, booksharing, object play, and transition--revealed that the amount, diversity, pragmatic functions, and semantic content of maternal language systematically differed by activity. The activities of everyday life shape language inputs to infants in ways that highlight word meaning.
Descriptors: Infants, Family Environment, Linguistic Input, Cues, Context Effect, Vocabulary Development, Language Acquisition, Mothers, Parent Child Relationship, Video Technology, Speech Communication, Pragmatics, Semantics, Discourse Analysis, Play, Story Reading, Hygiene, Food, Activities
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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