query about "motherese" research

[Cynthia Dunn]

I think one thing that is sometimes overlooked in these discussions is that
the Samoan and Kaluli children spent much of their time immersed in rich,
multiparty social interaction.  In other words, even if they weren't being
directly talked *to* they were certainly receiving plenty of linguistic
input.  By contrast, many American children grow up in isolated nuclear
families or single-parent homes.  If their primary caregiver does not talk
to them, they may not receive much linguistic input at all.

I'm reminded of another article by Shirley Heath-- something like "The
children of Trackton's children."  She found that these mothers were not
immersed in a rich social community, but tended to live alone in apartments
and spent much of their time watching television.  She seemed more
concerned about their children's language and intellectual development than
she had been about the original Trackton children.

So I think the social context within which care giving practices are
embedded makes a big difference here.


Cyndi Dunn
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Dept. of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminology
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls IA 50614-0513 U.S.A.

(319) 273-6251
Cyndi.Dunn at uni.edu


On Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 4:44 PM, Judy Pine <Judy.Pine at wwu.edu> wrote:

> Hello, all!  I have a student in my intro to linganth class who is a
> Communications Science and Disorders major.  She raised a point in class
> which I need to take into account as we move through the quarter.  I was
> commenting on the fact that motherese is by no means necessary, and the
> student piped up saying that motherese does enhance language acquisition,
> she has been taught so in her CSD classes.  Now, I will certainly be
> bringing in Ochs and Schieffelin when we get to language acquisition, and
> we will have talked about Heath when we work our way through literacy and
> writing (we are in phonology right now, the quarter began at EOM September,
> and acquisition comes along at the tail end of things in my course).  I
> would love to have additional material on which to draw, and I am
> especially curious about what is out there that is recent that supports the
> motherese hypothesis.
>
> I will reach out to colleagues in CSD and hopefully get some material
> there, but I thought it might be a good idea to see what my own community
> has in our collective libraries.  Your time and assistance is much
> appreciated.
>
>
> -          Judy :)
>
> Judith M.S. Pine
> Asst. Professor
> Dept of Anthropology
> Western Washington University
>