Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-8p85h Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-13T21:05:19.336Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Characteristics of adult speech which predict children's language development*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Sally Barnes ,
Mary Gutfreund ,
David Satterly  and
Gordon Wells
Sally Barnes
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
Mary Gutfreund
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
David Satterly
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
Gordon Wells
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Samples of the speech addressed by adults to a socially representative sample of 2-year-olds in naturally occurring contexts of interaction were analysed with respect to syntactic, semantic, pragmatic and discourse features to determine which features were most strongly associated with gain by the children on a variety of measures of language development over the ensuing 9 months. Following a principal components analysis of the adult speech variables, the most highly loading variables on the first six components were correlated with children's gain scores. Polar interrogatives, directives and extending utterances were all found to be associated with at least one measure of development. The results are if interpreted as evidence of reciprocal, rather than one-way facilitation.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , February 1983 , pp. 65 - 84
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

[*]

Address for correspondence: Centre for the Study of Language and Communication, University of Bristol, School of Education, 19 Berkeley Square, Bristol BS8 1HF, U.K.

References

REFERENCES

Bloom, L., Lightbown, P. & Hood, L. (1975). Structure and variation in child language. Monogr.Soc.Res.Ch.Devel. 40, No. 160.Google Scholar
Blount, B. (1977). Parental speech to children: cultural problems. Paper presented to the 1977 Georgetown University Round Table on Language and Linguistics.Google Scholar
Brown, R. (1973). A first language: the early stages. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruner, J. S. (1975). The ontogenesis of speech acts. JChLang 2. 1–19.Google Scholar
Cross, T. G. (1977). Mothers' speech adjustments: the contribution of selected child listener variables. In Snow, C.. & Ferguson, C.. (eds), Talking to children. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Cross, T. G. (1978). Mothers' speech and its association with rate of linguistic development in young children. In Waterson, N.. & Snow, C.. (eds), The development of communication: social and pragmatic factors in language acquisition. London: Wiley.Google Scholar
Dore, J. (1974). A pragmatic description of early language development. JPsycholingRes 3. 343–50.Google Scholar
Ervin-Tripp, S. (1977). Wait for me rollerskate. In Ervin-Tripp, S. & Mitchell-Kernan, S. (eds), Child discourse. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Furrow, D., Nelson, K. & Benedict, H. (1979). Mothers' speech to children and syntactic development: some simple relationships. JChLang 6. 423–42.Google ScholarPubMed
Garnica, O. (1977). Some prosodic and paralinguistic features of speech to young children. In Snow, C.. & Ferguson, C.. (eds), Talking to children. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Halliday, M. (1975). Learning how to mean: explorations in the development of language. London: Edward Arnold.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Labov, W. (1970). The logic of non-standard English. In Williams, F.. (ed.), Language and poverty. Chicago: Markham.Google Scholar
Lavob, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Labov, W. & Fanshel, D. (1977). Therapeutic discourse: psychotherapy as conversation. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Lenneberg, E. H. (1967). Biological foundations of language. New York: Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lieven, E. (1978). Conversation between mothers and young children: individual differences and their possible implications for the study of language learning. In Waterson, N.. & Snow, C.. (eds), The development of communication: social and pragmatic factors in language acquisition. London: Wiley.Google Scholar
McDonald, L. & Pien, D. (1982). Mother conversational behaviour as a function of interactional intent. JChLang 9. 337–58.Google ScholarPubMed
MacLure, M. & French, P. (1981). Talk at home and at school. In Wells, C. G.. (ed.), Learning through interaction: the study of language development. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Manning, W. H. & DuBois, P. H. (1962). Correlational methods in research on human learning. PerceptMotSkills 15. 287–321.Google Scholar
Nelson, K. (1973). Structure and strategy in learning to talk. Monogr.Soc.Res.Ch.Devel. 38, No. 149.Google Scholar
Nelson, K. (1981). Individual differences in language development: implications for development and language. DevelPsychol.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, K. E. (1977). Facilitating children's syntax acquisition. DevelPsychol 13. 101–7.Google Scholar
Newport, E. L., Gleitman, H. & Gleitman, L. R. (1977). Mother I'd rather do it myself: some effects and non-effects of maternal speech style. In Snow, C.. & Ferguson, C.. (eds), Talking to children. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
O'Connor, E. F. (1972). Extending classical test theory to the measurement of change. RevEducRes 42. 73–97.Google Scholar
Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. & Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Lg 50. 696–735.Google Scholar
Shatz, M. (1978). The relationship between cognitive processes and communication skills. In Keasey, C. B.. (ed.), The Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1977. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Shatz, M. (1982). On mechanisms of language acquisition: can features of the communication environment account for development? In Wanner, E.. & Gleitman, L.. (eds), Language acquisition: the state of the art. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Slobin, D. (1973). Cognitive prerequisites for the development of grammar. In Ferguson, C. A.. & Slobin, D.. (eds), Studies of child language development. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Snow, C. E. (1977). The development of conversation between mothers and babies. JChLang 4. 1–22.Google Scholar
Snow, C. & Ferguson, C. (eds). (1977). Talking to children. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar
Thouless, R. H. (1939). The effects of errors of measurement on correlation coefficients. BJPsychol 29. 383–403.Google Scholar
Vernon, P. E. (1956). The measurement of abilities. London: University of London Press.Google Scholar
Wells, C. G. (1973). Coding manual for the description of child speech. School of Education, University of Bristol.Google Scholar
Wells, C. G. (1974). Language development in pre-school children: Project report. JChLang 1. 158–62.Google Scholar
Wells, C. G. (1978). What makes for successful language development? In Campbell, R.. & Smith, P.. (eds), Recent advances in the psychology of language. Vol. 3. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Wells, C. G. (1979 a). Learning and using the auxiliary verb in English. In Lee, V.. (ed.), Language development. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
Wells, C. G. (1979 b). Describing children's linguistic development at home and at school. BritEducResJ 5. 75–98.Google Scholar
Wells, C. G. (1980). Adjustments in adult–child conversation: some effects of interaction. In Giles, H.., Smith, P.. & Robinson, W. P.. (eds), Language: social psychological perspectives. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Wells, C. G. (1981). Learning through interaction: the study of language development. Cambridge: C.U.P.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wells, C. G., MacLure, M. & Montgomery, M. (1980). Some strategies for sustaining conversation. In McCormark, W. C.. & Izzo, H. J.. (eds), Sixth LACUS Forum. Columbia, S.C.: Hornbeam Press.Google Scholar
Wells, C. G., Montgomery, M. & MacLure, M. (1979). Adult-child discourse: outline of a model of analysis. JPrag 3. 337–80.Google Scholar
Wells, C. G. & Robinson, W. P. (1982). The role of adult speech in language development. In Fraser, C.. & Scherer, K.. (eds), The social psychology of language. Cambridge: C.U.P.Google Scholar