Laing, Catherine ![]() |
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Abstract
Onomatopoeia are frequently identified amongst infants’ earliest words (Menn & Vihman, 2011), yet few authors have considered why this might be, and even fewer have explored this phenomenon empirically. Here we analyze mothers’ production of onomatopoeia in infant-directed speech (IDS) to provide an input-based perspective on these forms. Twelve mothers were recorded interacting with their 8-month-olds; onomatopoeic words (e.g. quack) were compared acoustically with their corresponding conventional words (duck). Onomatopoeia were more salient than conventional words across all features measured: mean pitch, pitch range, word duration, repetition, and pause length. Furthermore, a systematic pattern was observed in the production of onomatopoeia, suggesting a conventionalized approach to mothers’ production of these words in IDS.
Item Type: | Article |
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Date Type: | Publication |
Status: | Published |
Schools: | English, Communication and Philosophy |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
ISSN: | 0305-0009 |
Date of First Compliant Deposit: | 13 September 2017 |
Date of Acceptance: | 31 July 2016 |
Last Modified: | 07 Nov 2023 01:42 |
URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/104518 |
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