It turns out baby talk does more than grab our babies’ attention and make them smile.
Research has proven that there is a purpose for the classic, high-pitch tone and repetitive ‘mummy’ and ‘daddy’ that we use so often when talking to our little ones.
A recent study revealed ‘the more baby talk words that infants are exposed to the quicker they grasp language.’
This ‘baby talk’ is classified as two types of speech: words ending in ‘y’ and words that repeat sounds. This includes the basic vocabulary we use daily such as 'tummy wummy' and 'ma-ma' or 'da-da'.
#babytalk #ooh #mamahood a few weeks back Locki and I had a profound chit chat at the airport! pic.twitter.com/PtcIohqhVC
— Chemmy Alcott (@ChemmySki) March 22, 2017
The study followed the verbal learning curve of 9-month-old infants and found that those who heard more baby talk words were able to learn new words faster.
Researchers analysed speech patterns used to address 47 infants, specifically looking for baby talk and onomatopoeic words like woof and splash.
While the onomatopoeic words did not have any correlation with enhanced learning rates, baby talk did.
Infants who heard more diminutive words and words with repeated syllables developed their language more quickly between nine and 21 months.
Lead researcher, Mitsuhiko Ota, of the University of Edinburgh commented on the study’s results:
“Our findings suggest that diminutives and reduplication, which are frequently found in baby talk words -- across many different languages -- can facilitate the early stage of vocabulary development.”
So, there is officially no need to feel like a crazy person when you are babbling away to your little one. It has been proven that baby talk helps them advance their speaking skills faster.
There is a method to the baby madness!
