BARBIE AND GIRLS' BODY IMAGE
Motherese across Cultures
Jack Sprat
MOTHERESE ACROSS CULTURES
MOTHERESE ACROSS CULTURES
Motherese across Cultures
Motherese is the universal, infant-directed speech that seems to come to women on instinct when they have a preverbal baby. Some people discourage speaking in "baby talk," because they think that children can't possibly learn good English if they are not spoken to in good English. However, there is a lot of qualitative and quantitative research to suggest that motherese provides an effective bridge between mother and baby for linguistic transfer (TeechConsult's KIDSpad, 2010). Motherese enhances attention using reduplication, the use of special morphemes and phonological modification, and grammatical simplification, helping babies find boundaries between linguistic units. That, though, is not the most interesting thing about motherese. What are most interesting are the similarities and differences of motherese across cultures and linguistic groups.
Pitch Contour Comparisons between Chinese and American Mothers
Mechthild Papousek, Hanus Papousek, and David Symmes (1991) of Munich study the pitch changes that Chinese mothers and American mothers make while speaking to two-month-olds. They chose those two linguistic groups because one is a tonal language and one is a stress language, so they are basically as different as two languages can be. The researchers analyzed the speech contours and acoustic characteristics of the mothers' speech in interactional contexts like arousing/soothing, turn-taking, approving/disapproving, and didactic modeling, and they found that the contours...
The Importance of Language in Understanding Culture Introduction One of the lesser known, but important, programs of the United Nations is to promote the preservation of the world's languages. The UNDESA has incorporated language into sustainability standards, in particular concerned about the preservation of the world's languages that are most at risk. Language, the group argues, represents a way of thinking for a people (UNDESA, 2016). By that logic, it is essential
Language and Culture in Autobiography Language, Culture and Identity in the writings of Maxine Hong Kingston, Richard Rodriguez and Alfred Kazin: degradation of culture, family and self" Through the three autobiographical works, "Talk," by Maxine Hong Kingston, "Hunger of Memory," by Richard Rodriguez and "Brownsville School Days," by Alfred Kazin a reader can plainly comprehend the difficulties associated with immigration and language learning and how those difficulties interact with a developing
Grassroots movements and peaceful protests have helped promote equality in Hawaiian higher education. In 1991, a fierce debate waged throughout the nation over the legitimacy of affirmative action programs. That debate helped to showcase the need to take action—affirmative action—to conscientiously and constructively solve the problem of institutionalized racism. In a KFVE news show entitled “Island Issues,” two professors from the University of Hawaii talk about the need for affirmative action
Consider the fact that the Iroquois are said not to have had a strong word for the singular "I," and that they subsequently developed what was arguably the longest lasting communal representative democracy the world has ever known. The Inuit, whose culture revolves around the arctic world, have dozens of words for snow - this sort of technical knowledge allows quick and accurate transmission of conditions and training in
Apparently this view has much in its favor. When we compare modern English with some of those Indian languages which are most concrete in their formative expression, the contrast is striking. When we say "The eye is the organ of sight, the Indian may not be able to form the expression the eye, but may have to define that the eye of a person or of an animal is meant.
Silence too is an important part of communication in Singapore. It is customary to pause before answering a question, to indicate that the person has given the question the appropriate thought and consideration that is needed. Westerners habit of responding quickly to a question, to Singaporeans, often indicates thoughtlessness and rude behavior. Their demeanor is typically calm, and Westerners more aggressive style is often seen as off putting ("Singapore:
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