motherese

Search for glossary terms (regular expression allowed)

Glossaries

motherese Hits: 57

The name given to the restricted sort of language spoken by mothers and other primary caregivers to their young children, the main function of which is to teach the child the basic function and structure of language. Adults make an unconscious effort to stretch the signals, exaggerate the acoustic components that are exactly the dimensions that the baby needs to pay attention to in order to form the mental maps for speech.