English Language Paper 3, Child Language Acquisition: Child-Directed Speech Flashcards

Purpose of Child-Directed Speech (CDS)

The main purpose is to engage and retain the attention of the child, it is also thought to improve linguistic development in some cases, however it is not present in all cultures

Phonological features of CDS

frequent and longer pauses, frequent questions, rising tone

lexical features of CDS

restricted vocabulary, use of diminutives, use of the child’s vocabulary, use of nouns rather than pronouns, frequent use of adjectives (particularly relating to visual descriptions or number)

grammatical features of CDS

fewer verbs and tenses, shorter sentences, interrogatives, many tag questions and monitoring features, repetition, inclusive phrases, mitigated imperative

pragmatic features of CDS

paralinguistics, using props and play

discourse features of CDS

co-operation, adjacency pairs, adult tends to manage the topic, teacher talk, reinforcement and positivity, IRF structure