Lidya Utami, baby talk (0643042021)

I  INTRODUCTION

Background

Together with the physical development, the way of communication on a human also increases. The simplest first language that is used by human to communicate is called baby talk or motherese, or the more neutral term child directed speech) and refers to a set of speech modifications commonly found in the language adults use to address young children.

Ask the average person what role adult play in children's language learning, and you are likely to get one of two responses. You might hear those adults are irrelevant: Somehow kids manage to pick up language on their own. Alternatively, the respondent might say that adult talk to young children in special ways that aid language acquisition.

Adult-to-child speech is part of the larger framework of conversation we have with fluent members of a speech community. To understand why baby talk exists, and why it is sometimes structurally indistinguishable from language used for similar purposes in speech to adults, the writer focuses on how language functions in human interactive behavior.

Language-as-interaction can be divided into five main areas: pedagogy, control, affection, social exchange, and information. However, this paper concerns the discussion to pedagogy area only. It consists of phonological and syntactical analysis.  

Formulation of the Problem

Based on the background of the problem, the writer formulates the problem in the following questions:

1. How is the language used by infant to communicate to adult syntactically?
2. How is the language used by infant to communicate to adult phonologically?

Objective of the Research

According to the problem formulated above the objective of the research are:

1. To find out the comprehension of language used by infant to communicate to adult syntactically.
2. To find out the comprehension of language used by infant to communicate to adult phonologically.

Scope of the Research

The subjects of the research are child___ years old and an adult___ years old. The research is about analysis of baby talk. In this case, the writer limits the discussion based on the syntactical and phonological area.

II  THEORY

Baby talk, also referred to as caretaker speech, infant-directed talk (IDT) or child-directed speech (CDS) and informally as "motherese", "parentese", or "mommy talk"), is a nonstandard form of speech used by adults in talking to toddlers and infants. It is usually delivered with a "cooing" pattern of intonation different from that of normal adult speech: high in pitch, with many glissando variations that are more pronounced than those of normal speech. Baby talk is also characterized by the shortening and simplifying of words. Baby talk is also used by people when talking to their pets, and between adults as a form of affection, intimacy, bullying or condescension.

Terminology

a. Baby Talk

o   Baby talk is a long-established and universally understood traditional term. Motherese and parentese are more precise terms than baby talk, and perhaps more amenable to computer searches, but are not the terms of choice among child development professionals (and by critics of gender stereotyping with respect to the term motherese) because all caregivers, not only parents, use distinct speech patterns and vocabulary when talking to young children. Motherese can also refer to English spoken in a higher, gentler manner, which is otherwise correct English, as opposed to the non-standard, shortened word forms.

o   Child-directed speech or CDS is the term preferred by researchers, psychologists and child development professionals.  

o   Caregiver language is also sometimes used.

b. Syntax  

o   The rules of grammar for the arrangement of words into phrases and of phrases into sentence.

      c. Phonology

o   The study of speech