Werker – motherese

Motherese refers to the way that we speak to infants and young children. Some of us have suggested that maybe it should be called parentese because it’s not just mothers who do it. But what it refers to is the fact that we modify our voices as well as the style of speaking and, to some degree, the content of what we say when we’re speaking to infants and young children. So for example, speech directed to young infants is usually higher in pitch; the vowels are elongated and it’s quite musical in quality. As children get a little bit older, the pitch exaggeration isn’t as great. So it’s still high in pitch but not as high in pitch, to a little bit older infant or a young child. But the sentences are simplified and the choice of the vocabulary may be a little bit tailored to the developmental age of the child. So that’s what motherese is.