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 Parents' verbal interactions with babies have long been linked to
infant language development. Previous studies show that children
speak and understand more words and sentences when they have verbal
interactions with parents and caregivers. But less is known about
how the tone and tempo of parents' speech might impact early
language development for kids.
The current study focused on what researchers dub "parentese," a
speaking pattern common in many languages that is characterized by
higher pitch, slower tempo and exaggerated intonation. Researchers
randomly assigned 71 families with normally-developing babies to
either receive coaching in how to speak to infants, with a focus on
"parentese," or to go without coaching.
"Providing parents with knowledge and feedback on their own language
practices, and with concrete tips on when and how to talk to their
infants, changed how they talked to their infants, and this was
associated with immediate as well as longer-term positive impacts on
the babies' language skills," said lead study author Naja Ferjan
Ramirez of the University of Washington in Seattle.
At the start of the study, when babies were 6 months old,
researchers recorded families over a 12-hour day to assess how many
words parents spoke to infants, how many back-and-forth exchanges
occurred between parents and kids, and how parents sounded. They did
additional recordings when babies were 10, 14 and 18 months old,
also assessing what babbling and pre-language sounds kids made and
how many words kids understood and used.
Families assigned to coaching had sessions when babies were 6, 10
and 14 months old. These were designed to encourage use of "parentese"
and back-and-forth exchanges with their babies. Coaches also
discussed language development milestones and how to help babies
reach these targets.
Coaching had the intended effect: families spoke more "parentese"
when they received coaching. Coaching was also associated with more
back-and-forth exchanges between parents and babies, and more
advanced language development by 18 months. Toddlers in families
that received coaching spoke more words, and had more complex
language interactions.
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While some previous research suggests that babies might develop
language more slowly in families with less income or education, the
current study found gains associated with coaching were similar
across socioeconomic groups.
One limitation of the study is the potential for family members who
know they're being recorded to pay closer attention to their speech
and interactions with babies than they might outside of a trial
setting, the study team notes in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
Still, the results highlight the critical role that parent-child
engagement plays in child speech development and demonstrate that
changes in adult speech patterns can improve child outcomes, said
Dr. Caroline Kistin, a researcher at Boston Medical Center and
Boston University School of Medicine who wasn't involved in the
study.
Parentese, which is common in many languages and cultures, may help
capture infants' attention and make it easier for them to
differentiate between sounds, Kistin said by email.
"Parentese also appears to engage infants differently than other
types of speech, and the slow speed may afford more opportunities
for back and forth conversational turns between parents and young
children," Kistin said. "These interactive back-and-forth patterns
have been shown to be particularly important for early language
development, and some studies suggest the pattern of parent-child
interaction is likely much more important than total number of words
heard."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/31ohgV1 PNAS, online February 3, 2020.
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