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  • Title: How salient are onomatopoeia in the early input? A prosodic analysis of infant-directed speech.
    Author: Laing CE, Vihman M, Keren-Portnoy T.
    Journal: J Child Lang; 2017 Sep; 44(5):1117-1139. PubMed ID: 27670787.
    Abstract:
    Onomatopoeia are frequently identified amongst infants' earliest words (Menn & Vihman, 2011), yet few authors have considered why this might be, and even fewer have explored this phenomenon empirically. Here we analyze mothers' production of onomatopoeia in infant-directed speech (IDS) to provide an input-based perspective on these forms. Twelve mothers were recorded interacting with their 8-month-olds; onomatopoeic words (e.g. quack) were compared acoustically with their corresponding conventional words (duck). Onomatopoeia were more salient than conventional words across all features measured: mean pitch, pitch range, word duration, repetition, and pause length. Furthermore, a systematic pattern was observed in the production of onomatopoeia, suggesting a conventionalized approach to mothers' production of these words in IDS.
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