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Change in maternal speech rate to preverbal infants over the first two years of life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2020

Daniele RANERI ,
Katie VON HOLZEN ,
Rochelle NEWMAN  and
Nan BERNSTEIN RATNER
Daniele RANERI
Affiliation:
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, the University of Maryland
Katie VON HOLZEN
Affiliation:
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, the University of Maryland
Rochelle NEWMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, the University of Maryland
Nan BERNSTEIN RATNER*
Affiliation:
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, the University of Maryland
*
*Corresponding author: Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, The University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD20742, USA. E-mail: nratner@umd.edu
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Abstract

Aims: Although IDS is typically described as slower than adult-directed speech (ADS), potential impacts of slower speech on language development have not been examined. We explored whether IDS speech rates in 42 mother–infant dyads at four time periods predicted children's language outcomes at two years. Method: We correlated IDS speech rate with child language outcomes at two years, and contrasted outcomes in dyads displaying high/low rate profiles. Outcomes: Slower IDS rate at 7 months significantly correlated with vocabulary knowledge at two years. Slowed IDS may benefit child language learning even before children first speak.

Keywords

infant-directed speechspeech ratechild language
Type
Brief Research Reports
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 47 , Issue 6 , November 2020 , pp. 1263 - 1275
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020

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