Characterization of children's verbal input in a forager-farmer population using long-form audio recordings and diverse input definitions

Camila Scaff, Marisa Casillas, Jonathan Stieglitz () and Alejandrina Cristia
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Camila Scaff: UZH - Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich, Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres
Marisa Casillas: University of Chicago
Jonathan Stieglitz: TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Alejandrina Cristia: Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres

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Abstract: There is little systematically collected quantitative empirical data on how much linguistic input children in small-scale societies encounter, with some estimates suggesting low levels of directed speech. We report on an ecologically-valid analysis of speech experienced over the course of a day by young children (N = 24, 6–58 months old, 33% female) in a forager-horticulturalist population of lowland Bolivia. A permissive definition of input (i.e., including overlapping, background, and non-linguistic vocalizations) leads to massive changes in terms of input quantity, including a quadrupling of the estimate for overall input compared to a restrictive definition (only near and clear speech), while who talked to and around a focal child is relatively stable across input definitions. We discuss implications of these results for theoretical and empirical research into language acquisition.

Date: 2023-11-28
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Published in Infancy, 2023, 29 (2), pp.196-215. ⟨10.1111/infa.12568⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04390341

DOI: 10.1111/infa.12568

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