Caretaker Language Flashcards
What does CDS mean
Child Directed Speech
Phonology (sound) features of CDS
seperate phrases with longer pauses between each
speak more slowly
exagerated “sing song” intonation
Why do caretakers use a “sing song” intonation
Helps emphasise key words in speech
Helps exaggerate the difference between interrogatives, declaraives and imperatives
Semantic features of CDS
restriced vocabulary
simplified vocabulary, adopts children’s own words for things
Grammar features of CDS
fewer verbs and tenses
omit modifiers and function words (at, my)
shorter sentences
simple sentences
repeat sentence frames and structure
more questions and tag questions
omit inflections such as plurals and possessives
Pragmatic features of CDS
lots of warm body language
fewer utterances per turn - break it down into smaller bits for the child to understand
supportive language
copy and expand on child’s own utterances
What is supportive language
when a child says something unintelligible the adult will copy the utterance. They replace the unclear bit with a question to encourage the child to repeat it again.
Use of questions
Example of supportive language
Child: I stuck
Adult: You’re stuck?
Do children use CDS
Yes, often it is seen when a slightly older child is talking to someone younger than them, they will used more simplified CDS
Grammar correction
Not as common as other correction types
Adults are more likely to accept the child’s version
Brown and Hanlon - 1970
Children with Disabilities
Whether blind or deaf children usually acquire language at the same rate as children with no disabilities. Similarly children with deaf parents who may not hear more than 10 hours of speech per week do not acquire language at any slower rate than usual.
Children who watch TV
Children who’s main source of language is from the TV develop at a slower rate. This shows that language development is massively impacted on the amount of interaction that a child receives.
Twins
Language acquisition is often delayed as only half of the speech that they hear is directed at them. However when they are entered into school they catch up with their peers.
Expansion
If an adult expands too much on what a child is saying the child will not make much progress as it inhibits the child’s conversation rather than facilitates it.
