Comparative analysis of maternal and paternal child directed speech

Abstract

The aim of the study is to compare the maternal and paternal child directed speech. It is based on the approach of social interaction. Twelve children 24 to 31 months old and their parents took part in the study. The parents were videotaped when interacting with their children in a free play situation for 20 minutes at their houses. The data were analyzed by using the computational system CHILDES (Child Language Data Exchange System) and the statistic package SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The results indicated that the mothers and fathers did not differ significantly regarding child directed speech. In relation to children's gender it was observed that the parents significantly used more clarification requests, feedback and confirmation to the boys when compared to girls. These results were discussed considering the children's linguist development level, the context in which the interactions occurred and the implications of maternal and paternal child directed speech to the process of language acquisition.