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Child Development & Early Education vocabulary · Language and Communication

Child-directed speech

Meaning in child development & early education, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In child development & early education, child-directed speech means: The way adults often talk to babies and young children, with a higher, more musical voice, simple words, short sentences and a lot of repetition.

In Turkish: çocuğa yönelik konuşma, bebeksi konuşma

How it is used

The research term; informal names are motherese, parentese and baby talk. Studies link it with babies' attention to speech and early word learning. It does not mean using wrong or made-up words.

Example sentences

  1. Child-directed speech may help babies notice where one word ends and the next begins.

  2. The researchers recorded child-directed speech in families from different cultures.

Common collocations

  • infant-directed speech
  • parentese
  • motherese
  • baby talk
  • language developmentThe process by which children learn to understand and use language, from crying and babbling to words, sentences and conversation.
  • babblingThe repeated speech-like sounds babies make before their first words, such as 'bababa' or 'dadada', usually starting in the second half of the first year.
  • receptive languageA child's ability to understand language: following instructions, understanding words and questions, and making sense of what other people say.
  • turn-takingTaking turns with others in play, games and conversation, which involves waiting, sharing and paying attention to the other person.

More terms: Language and Communication

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