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Motherese, affect, and vocabulary development: dyadic communicative interactions in infants and toddlers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2018

Shruti DAVE ,
Ann M. MASTERGEORGE  and
Lesley B. OLSWANG
Shruti DAVE*
Affiliation:
University of California, Davis, USA
Ann M. MASTERGEORGE
Affiliation:
Texas Tech University, USA
Lesley B. OLSWANG
Affiliation:
University of Washington, USA
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: sdave@ucdavis.edu
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Abstract

Responsive parental communication during an infant's first year has been positively associated with later language outcomes. This study explores responsivity in mother–infant communication by modeling how change in guiding language between 7 and 11 months influences toddler vocabulary development. In a group of 32 mother–child dyads, change in early maternal guiding language positively predicted child language outcomes measured at 18 and 24 months. In contrast, a number of other linguistic variables – including total utterances and non-guiding language – did not correlate with toddler vocabulary development, suggesting a critical role of responsive change in infant-directed communication. We further assessed whether maternal affect during early communication influenced toddler vocabulary outcomes, finding that dominant affect during early mother–infant communications correlated to lower child language outcomes. These findings provide evidence that responsive parenting should not only be assessed longitudinally, but unique contributions of language and affect should also be concurrently considered in future study.

Keywords

guiding languagemothereseaffective communication
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 45 , Issue 4 , July 2018 , pp. 917 - 938
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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