Infant-directed Speech

Infant-directed Speech Ii

IGUANA

What the Science Tells Us

When people talk to babies, they often speak in a very distinct way that scientists call infant-directed speech (IDS). It has also been called motherese, parentese or “baby talk.” Parents who use a sign language also have a distinct way of signing with their baby (see Sign Language).

One of the most noticeable things about IDS is its sing-songiness: the pitch of the speaker’s voice goes higher and lower than it does in speech to adults. But there are other differences; for instance, the speech is often slower, and sometimes the sentences are shorter. It involves our faces and our bodies too. IDS can include special made-up words that are likely different in every family and some of those words will be invented by the child.

Some people think that IDS is harmful for children, but it turns out the opposite is true. It has an almost magical effect on infants and toddlers across all cultures. They relax and pay attention, and when children (and adults) pay attention, they learn. Why does this happen? The sing-songy nature helps children feel safe, a pre-requisite for optimal development and learning, including language learning. Perhaps best of all, IDS contributes to building the connection between our baby and us.

Children like listening to IDS and particular properties of IDS actually make parts of the language easier to learn. Even if it can feel a little funny to speak

IDS at first, we don’t need to think about whether we are doing it “right” or not, it comes very naturally and automatically. Even young children do it.

As our child ages and develops, we will quite naturally change the way we use IDS. For instance, a 2 year old doesn’t benefit from the sing-songy voice, but still finds it easier to learn from simpler sentences. Again, we don’t need to think too hard about this, most of us naturally adjust the way we speak to our child as they learn and develop.

What You Can Do

Some caregivers do not like using or hearing infant-directed speech. For them, it feels uncomfortable. However, using IDS with your child helps them learn about the sounds of your language, and makes it easier for them to learn about words. IDS also grabs your infant’s attention, and promotes more back-and-forth (serve and return) exchanges. Best of all, it helps you connect with your baby.

You might be wondering how to use IDS. You are probably already using it without realizing it.

IDS is not just about how you use your voice. It involves differences in how you use your face, body, and language too. For example: 

# With your voice, you may • Raise the pitch • Use more varied intonation so you sound more like you are singing • Lengthen your words • Exaggerate your sounds

# With your face you may exaggerate your expressions.  You may: • Raise your eyebrows • Smile more • Widen your eyes # With your body you lean in close, and often use exaggerated gestures.

You may: • Nod or shake your head more vigorously • Wave with extra enthusiasm when modeling “bye-bye” # Your language becomes simpler.  You may: • Use shorter sentences • Repeat important words more often

All of these things contribute to your child’s learning and their connection with you.

Research has shown that babies’ brains are more active when adults use IDS compared with regular conversational speech. This means they are more engaged and learning more.

INSECT