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Phonological aspects of Arandic baby talk

  • Myfany Turpin , Katherine Demuth and April Ngampart Campbell
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Language Description Informed by Theory
This chapter is in the book Language Description Informed by Theory

Abstract

Baby Talk (BT), also known as child-directed speech, is a non-standard form of speech used by adults when talking to infants. In Arandic languages BT involves the use of a small set of unique but widely known words, onomatopoeic-derived words, as well as phonological modifications to standard vocabulary. As in neighboring Warlpiri (Laughren 1984), Arandic BT contains a simplified phonology that conflates coronal contrasts and avoids rhotics and consonant clusters. Whilst standard Arandic words are mostly vowel-initial, this weak initial syllable is omitted in BT and the preferred CVCV(C) word structure is achieved through patterns of reduplication and truncation. The BT phonology becomes more complex with the perceived development of the child’s phonological competence, a case of fine-tuning over time.

Abstract

Baby Talk (BT), also known as child-directed speech, is a non-standard form of speech used by adults when talking to infants. In Arandic languages BT involves the use of a small set of unique but widely known words, onomatopoeic-derived words, as well as phonological modifications to standard vocabulary. As in neighboring Warlpiri (Laughren 1984), Arandic BT contains a simplified phonology that conflates coronal contrasts and avoids rhotics and consonant clusters. Whilst standard Arandic words are mostly vowel-initial, this weak initial syllable is omitted in BT and the preferred CVCV(C) word structure is achieved through patterns of reduplication and truncation. The BT phonology becomes more complex with the perceived development of the child’s phonological competence, a case of fine-tuning over time.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Map of Australian languages refferred to in this book vii
  4. List of contributors xi
  5. Editors’ introduction 1
  6. Bibliography of Mary Laughren 15
  7. Evaluating the Bilingual Education Program in Warlpiri schools 25
  8. Part 1. Phonology
  9. Phonological aspects of Arandic baby talk 49
  10. Prestopping of nasals and laterals is only partly parallel 81
  11. Part 2. Morphology
  12. Liminal pronoun systems 99
  13. Verbs as spatial deixis markers in Jingulu 123
  14. The reconstruction of inflectional classes in morphology 153
  15. Part 3. Syntax
  16. Marking Definiteness or Specificity, not necessarily both 193
  17. Theory and experiment in parametric minimalism 217
  18. Serial verbs in Wambaya 263
  19. Nominals as adjuncts or arguments 283
  20. Part 4. Semantics
  21. The case of the invisible postman 319
  22. Manner and result 337
  23. Part 5. Anthropological Linguistics
  24. Shifting relations 361
  25. Language index 383
  26. Subject index 385
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.147.04tur

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Map of Australian languages refferred to in this book vii
  4. List of contributors xi
  5. Editors’ introduction 1
  6. Bibliography of Mary Laughren 15
  7. Evaluating the Bilingual Education Program in Warlpiri schools 25
  8. Part 1. Phonology
  9. Phonological aspects of Arandic baby talk 49
  10. Prestopping of nasals and laterals is only partly parallel 81
  11. Part 2. Morphology
  12. Liminal pronoun systems 99
  13. Verbs as spatial deixis markers in Jingulu 123
  14. The reconstruction of inflectional classes in morphology 153
  15. Part 3. Syntax
  16. Marking Definiteness or Specificity, not necessarily both 193
  17. Theory and experiment in parametric minimalism 217
  18. Serial verbs in Wambaya 263
  19. Nominals as adjuncts or arguments 283
  20. Part 4. Semantics
  21. The case of the invisible postman 319
  22. Manner and result 337
  23. Part 5. Anthropological Linguistics
  24. Shifting relations 361
  25. Language index 383
  26. Subject index 385
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