What drives child-directed speech?

Much research has focused on how the prosodic and distributional effects of child-directed speech (CDS) can facilitate language development and how these effects may differ across cultures. In this talk, I will explore what drives caregivers and alloparents to use CDS in the first place. I will consider two possible factors that could potentially shape this speech register - positive affect expression and learner-oriented input modification aka teaching - and will present some empirical evidence that scrutinises their role in the use of CDS. I will discuss the findings with respect to processes of conventionalisation of CDS in an attempt to gain a better understanding of what shapes the language input of children.

This talk is a part of Abralin ao Vivo – Linguists Online, organised by the Brazilian Linguistics Association, Abralin. It took place on 25th August 2021.