Pitch alterations in British motherese: some preliminary acoustic data
- 1 October 1989
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Child Language
- Vol. 16 (3) , 503-512
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0305000900010680
Abstract
Speech samples from eight British female adults addressing young children and another adult were analysed in terms of vocal pitch. Increases in vocal pitch when addressing young children were observed but were smaller than the increases noted by North American researchers, and variability across speakers was marked. Some adults only slightly raised their vocal pitch to young children. Pitch increases were generally more marked for mean as against modal pitch measures, and for free speech as against reading aloud conditions.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Words for Self and Others in Some Japanese FamiliesAmerican Anthropologist, 1964