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Features of speech in German and US-American mother–toddler dyads during toy play and book-reading

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2019

Elena DOERING ,
Kevin SCHLUTER  and
Antje von SUCHODOLETZ Open the ORCID record for Antje von SUCHODOLETZ [Opens in a new window]
Elena DOERING
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Kevin SCHLUTER
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Antje von SUCHODOLETZ*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
*
*Corresponding author: New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Psychology, PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, UAE. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Previous research indicates that features of speech during mother–toddler interactions are dependent on the situational context. In this study, we explored language samples of 69 mother–toddler dyads collected during standardized toy play and book-reading situations across two countries, Germany and the United States (US). The results showed that features of speech differed across situational contexts. However, situational differences were mostly found among the sample from the US but not from Germany. Few significant associations between mothers’ and toddlers’ language variables were found. Findings are discussed with regard to variations in language across situations and countries.

Keywords

languagemother–toddler interactionfeatures of speech
Type
Brief Research Reports
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 47 , Special Issue 1: The Influence of Input Quality and Communicative Interaction on Language Development Part 1 , January 2020 , pp. 112 - 131
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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Footnotes

2

now at University of Osnabrueck, Germany

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