motherese
Cooing at babies
Motherese is the simplified, melodic speech adults instinctively use with infants—higher pitch, exaggerated intonation, slower tempo, and simple vocabulary: Who's a good baby? Yes you are!
Also called baby talk or parentese, though motherese emphasizes the caregiver's speech patterns rather than the child's.
Research suggests it helps infants acquire language.
Incoherent or infantile speech
- imitationCopy of the original
- vocabularyOne's word collection
- comprehensionMental understanding of meaning
- phonologyScience of language sounds
syntax · semantics · scaffolding · expansion · recasting · labeling · turn-taking · overextension
Soft murmuring sounds
- tendernessGentle, caring quality
- warmthHeat you feel
- gentlenessSoft, kind demeanor
- endearmentsAffectionate words or phrases
soothing · sweetness · loving · doting · cherishing · fondness · softness · caring
Simplified infant-directed speech
- sing-songRhythmically repetitive tone
- prosodyStudy of verse rhythm
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- repetitionAct of redoing
parentese · melodic · rhythmic · reduplication · diminutives
Connection or fondness
- closenessState of proximity
- bondingForming close connections
- trustConfidence in another
- securityProtection from threat
comfort · nurture · empathy · attunement · responsiveness · sensitivity · face-to-face · mirroring
babbling
Incoherent or infantile speech
- imitationCopy of the original
- vocabularyOne's word collection
- comprehensionMental understanding of meaning
phonology · syntax · semantics · scaffolding · expansion · recasting · labeling · turn-taking · overextension · prelinguistic
cooing
Soft murmuring sounds
- tendernessGentle, caring quality
- warmthHeat you feel
- gentlenessSoft, kind demeanor
endearments · soothing · sweetness · loving · doting · cherishing · fondness · softness · caring · adoration
baby-talk
Simplified infant-directed speech
- sing-songRhythmically repetitive tone
- prosodyStudy of verse rhythm
- intonationPitch variation in speech
repetition · parentese · melodic · rhythmic · reduplication · diminutives
attachment
Connection or fondness
security · comfort · nurture · empathy · attunement · responsiveness · sensitivity · face-to-face · mirroring · synchrony
- baby carebottles, bottle feeding, pacifiers, cribs, baby oil
- baby talkmama, dada, papa, mommy, daddy
- child languagebabbling, first words, cooing, language development, speech development
- infant developmentbabbling, developmental milestones, crawling, first steps, developmental delay
- speech registersformal, informal, casual, colloquial, vernacular
- Language Acquisitionfirst language, second language, bilingualism, interlanguage, universal grammar
mothereseacademic discourse
Formal intellectual exchange in academia
technical jargon · legalese · professional language · monotone speech · flat affect