Infant-directed speech supports language acquisition through ______.
A) permitting infants to quickly and efficiently analyze everyday speech
B) exaggerating sounds, which helps infants map sounds to meanings
C) diminishing lip movements, which helps infants learn lip movements for speech
D) teaching babies how to talk over others who are talking

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Infant-directed speech, also known as baby talk or parentese, involves a higher pitch, exaggerated intonation, and slower tempo. Research has shown that these features of infant-directed speech help infants map sounds to meanings and facilitate language acquisition. This is because the exaggerated sounds help the infants distinguish between different sounds in language, which assists with their ability to detect and produce words. Diminishing lip movements or teaching babies how to talk over others who are talking are not supported by research as effective methods for language acquisition.

Infant-Directed Speech Supports Language Acquisition Through ______