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The relation of maternal language to variation in rate and style of language acquisition*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

June Hampson  and
Katherine Nelson
June Hampson*
Affiliation:
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Katherine Nelson
Affiliation:
The Graduate School and University Center of the CityUniversity of New York
*
Address for correspondence: UMDNJ-CMHC at Piscataway, Social Problem-Solving Program, 240 Skelton Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854–3248, USA.
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Abstract

The main thrust of this paper is to question whether in earlier studies the ‘motherese hypothesis’ has been adequately tested. The present study first explores concurrent relations between maternal and child language at an early age, using the Soyder, Bates & Bretherton (1981) questionnaire to assess vocabulary at 1;1. With a large sample of 45 subjects, videotaped at 1;1 and 1;8, it was possible to analyse earlier talkers separately from later talkers. The results indicate pre-existing differences between the mothers of earlier and later talkers as early as 1;1 – some 5 months before other studies have examined the possible facilitative effects of ‘motherese’. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, when the sample was divided according to stylistic preference at 1;8, several associations between maternal language at 1;1 and MLU at 1;8 emerged for the non-expressive group which were non-existent for the expressive group. These results imply that earlier studies may have been looking for the effectiveness of maternal input too late. Moreover, it may continue to be difficult to demonstrate consistent effects of child-directed speech as long as researchers continue to ignore individual differences in style of language acquisition.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , June 1993 , pp. 313 - 342
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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Footnotes

[*]

This research was supported by a National Graduate Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education and an Individual Predoctoral NRSA Fellowship (No. 1 F3I MH 09494-01) from the National Institute of Mental Health to the first author.

References

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