Ever wondered why mothers use baby talk on toddlers? Scientists have the answer
Mothers change their voice when talking to their babies to provide comfort and appear less threatening to offspring, according to a study which suggests that ‘baby talk’ is an important part of human speech evolution.
Through the subconscious mechanism of baby talk, a parent’s voice can offer encouragement, discipline or comfort, and even facilitate early language development in infants, researchers said.
The study by researchers at Western Sydney University in Australia shows that mothers unconsciously shorten their vocal tract when speaking to their babies, creating a higher pitch that is thought to have evolved from pre-speech that primate ancestors used to appear less threatening to offspring.
It was only once human language emerged that baby talk, formally referred to as Infant Directed Speech (IDS), acquired a second purpose – to facilitate language learning in infants, said Marina Kalashnikova, who led the research.
“Infant Directed Speech is actually a powerful tool that parents instinctively use to aid language development in their infant’s first months and years of life,” said Kalashnikova.
“Shortening of the vocal tract is not unique to humans it is an adjustment that several species make to appear smaller and less threatening,” she said.
“But specifically for humans, by shortening their vocal tract, mothers produce …read more
