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

Author

Listed:
  • Camila Scaff

    (UZH - Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich)

  • Marisa Casillas

    (University of Chicago)

  • Jonathan Stieglitz

    (TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - Comue de Toulouse - Communauté d'universités et établissements 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, IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse)

  • Alejandrina Cristia

    (LSCP - Laboratoire de sciences cognitives et psycholinguistique - DEC - Département d'Etudes Cognitives - ENS-PSL - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Camila Scaff & Marisa Casillas & Jonathan Stieglitz & Alejandrina Cristia, 2023. "Characterization of children's verbal input in a forager-farmer population using long-form audio recordings and diverse input definitions," Post-Print hal-04390341, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04390341
    DOI: 10.1111/infa.12568
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04390341v1
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