caregiving
The Influence of Women's Speech on Language Evolution
Play videoThis video is a clip from an interview with sociolinguist Valerie Fridland discussing how the evolution of language is often catalyzed by women. Fridland explains that because women often hold caregiving roles in the home, they pass on their language to children more than men do, leading to intimate diversification. Additionally, once children are in school and begin developing speech patterns that are distinct from those of their families and more closely align with those of their peers, women have been observed to use more novel language than men, which is often later adopted into standard language. She cites the transition from "doth" to "does" in written English, a change observed in texts by women a generation before it appeared in works by men. Interestingly, Fridland also notes that some aspects of language, such as the regular use of "totally", become enregistered as highly feminine, which contradicts this trend and prompts a clear pushback in men's language.
Duolingo for Talking to Children - SNL
Play videoThis sketch features an app that teaches adults how to speak to children. This is an excellent parody of American caregivers feel pressure to accomodate young children in conversation. The video focuses primarily on message production strategies as described in "Indexing Gender."
Citation: Ochs, Elinor, Indexing gender, Rethinking context: language as an interactive phenomenon, pp. 335-358, Cambridge University Press, 1993
There's A Huge Market Around 'Baby Sign Language,' But Little Research On Its Effectiveness
This article describes a growing method of "baby sign language", where parents teach their babies signs for simple phrases. It also includes the quoted advice, "Engage in conversations with your baby. Even though your baby can't speak, you communicate as if your baby is able to do that and you interpret her looks and her gestures". I think this relates to our discussion of how being accommodating to the baby is a critical part of "Baby Talk" / "Motherese".
Global 'goo-goo': What baby talk sounds like around the world
This article talks about a study done on "baby talk." I thought it was relevant to the research on Motherese (Ochs, Elinor. 1993. Indexing Gender) in that it pointed to research on various countries and their corresponding "baby talk." The article talks about how the speech of parents supposedly elicits different "babbling" from their babies. [Published on 12-07-2017]
Who’s Better at Baby Talk, Mom or Dad?
Based upon research, “Mothers responded 88% to 94% of the time to the babies vocalizations, while dads responded only 27% to 33% of the time” (Park, 2014). Therefore, babies respond more to their mothers than their fathers. Additionally, a mother responds more to a daughter and less to a son. Whereas, a father responds more to a son than a daughter. Verbal interaction impacts language performance and academic success. [Published on 11-03-2014]
Baby Talk
This is an article that talks about how “baby talk” is the best way for infants to acquire language skills. It discusses the argument that talking to infants like that may be condescending; however, studies have shown that it is an excellent way for them to learn their language. It also discusses how babies are ready to learn language in the last trimester when their ears are fully developed. They are already listening to their mother and the sounds around them. The use of repetition and slower speech is helpful with infants in learning language patterns. [Published on 12-06-2016]
"Father knows best:" Movie ciips
Play videoA cut of clips from many movies portraying fathers giving advice.