Child-directed Speech in a Norwegian Kindergarten Setting

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Author
Steen, V. B., & Englund, N.
Year
2022

Purpose

The study investigates and compares the language use of Norwegian-speaking female kindergarten employees in a play situation with selected toys. The study focuses on child-directed speech (CDS) than adult-directed speech (ADS). Vowel pitch, vowel duration, formant frequency, and the vowel space for the vowels /a:/, /i:/, and /u:/, as well as their short variants /a/, /i/, and /u/, were investigated.

Result

The results show that the staff participating in the study largely adapt their language when talking to children. They do this to engage children emotionally, and the adaptation can contribute to children’s language development. With regard to CDS, the employees used higher vowel pitch and greater pitch variation compared to ADS. This helps to capture the children’s attention and strengthen social interaction. In addition, the vowel space was smaller in CDS than in ADS, and the vowels were hypoarticulated.

Design

The study used a quasi-experimental design to explore the production of CDS and ADS among 33 female kindergarten employees. The participants’ speech was recorded in two settings (CDS and ADS), resulting in 66 recordings. The recordings were analysed using the PRAAT and ANOVA (one-way) software.

References

Steen, V. B., & Englund, N. (2022). Child-directed Speech in a Norwegian Kindergarten Setting. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research66(3), 505–518.

Online year: 2021

Issue year: 2022

Review year: 2022