Ben G. Blount

Prosodic, paralinguistic, and interactional features in parent-child speech: English and Spanish

Parents employ a special register when speaking to young children, containing features that mark it as appropriate for children who are beginning to acquire their language. Parental speech in English to 5 children (ages 0; 9–1; 6) and in Spanish to 4 children (ages 0; 8–1; 1 and 1; 6–1; 10) was analysed for the presence and distribution of these features. Thirty-four paralinguistic, prosodic, and interactional features were identified, and rate measures and proportions indicated developmental patterns and differences across languages. Younger children received a higher rate of features that marked affect; older children were addressed with more features that marked semantically meaningful speech. English-speaking parents relied comparatively more on paralinguistic and affective features, whereas Spanish-speaking parents used comparatively more interactional features. Despite these differences, there was a high degree of similarity across parents and languages for the most frequently occurring features.

Aspects of Luo Socialization.

Socialization is defined as the incorporation of a child into society on the basis of social and linguistic interaction. Central to this process is a childs advancement in communicative skills. As a child progresses in linguistic competence, the structure of interaction changes to accommodate his newfound skills, and underlying these changes are the Luo attitudes and beliefs on child-rearing, language acquisition, and the position of children in society. (Socialization; speech acquisition; social interaction; language attitudes.)

Language contact and education

Paul R. Turner, ed. Bilingualism in the Southwest. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1973. xv+352 pp. Figures and index.

Studies in Child Language: An Anthropological View1

7.45.