Infant vocalizations as compared to adult speech

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the segmental features of infant speech using sound spectrography in order to determine if infant speech sounds are comparable to adult phonology. The acoustic and subjective characteristics of the infants' vocalizations were of chief concern in that the research intended to show that there were definite and distinguishable adult-like vocalizations in the infants' speech.Language is a learned behavior and its development is subject to the same types of influences that accelerate or deccelerate the acquisition of any learned function. Such influences that could have an affect on language acquisition might include Intelligence of the child, environmental and socio-economic influences, psycho-emotional status of the child, and parent-child relationships. Although much individual variation is apparent, there are predictable patterns or stages of language development which occur.A great deal of research has been concerned with the development of verbal expression and the ages at which children progress through each stage (i.e. 9-14 months, first words and babbling 18-24 months, first sentences; 3-4 years, use of syntactical structures, and 4-8 years, correct articulation of all sounds in connected speech) (Menyuk 1972). Detailed descriptions of the early stages of infant speech has also been available for study (i.e. birth-6 months including the stages of crying, cooing, and crying) (Menyuk 1972). However, there appeared to be fewer detailed research studies in the area of the acoustic features of infant speech as compared to adult speech. It is agreed that infants evolve through several stages of language development before acquiring the Intricate system of adult speech, The research was concerned with the early or pre-language stages of language development. Infant speech can be analyzed to determine if the early stages of speech are commensurable to adult speech (Winitz 1960).