ERIC Number: EJ1382044
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Jul
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1363-755X
EISSN: EISSN-1467-7687
Vocal Input and Output among Infants in a Multilingual Context: Evidence from Long-Form Recordings in Vanuatu
Cristia, Alejandrina; Gautheron, Lucas; Colleran, Heidi
Developmental Science, v26 n4 e13375 Jul 2023
What are the vocal experiences of children growing up on Malakula island, Vanuatu, where multilingualism is the norm? Long-form audio-recordings captured spontaneous speech behavior by, and around, 38 children (5-33 months, 23 girls) from 11 villages. Automated analyses revealed most children's vocal input came from female adults and other children's voices, with small contributions from male adult voices. The greatest changes with age involved an increase in the input vocalizations from other children. Total input (collapsing across child-directed and overheard speech, and across languages) was [approximately equal to]11 min per hour, which was at least 5 min (31%) lower than that found in other populations studied using comparable methods in previous literature, as well as in archival American data analyzed with the same algorithm. In contrast, children's own vocalization counts were two to four times higher than previous reports for North-American English-learning monolingual infants at matched ages, and comparable to estimates from archival American data, consistent with a resilient language-learning cognitive system for this aspect of vocal development. The strongest association between input and output was with vocalizations by other children, rather than those by adults, which is consistent with research in anthropology but less so with current theoretical trends in developmental psychology. These results invite further research in populations that are under-represented in developmental science.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Infants, Child Language, Infant Behavior, Speech, Auditory Stimuli, Multilingualism, Speech Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Adults, Females, Child Development
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Vanuatu
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/t8r5j/