Selected discourse and linguistic features in motherese

Abstract

This study aims at analysing selected discourse and linguistic features used during verbal interaction between adult speakers and children within a Maltese family. It studies syntactic features like codeswitching, repetition, questioning, use of directive utterances and imperative forms, use of suffixes, names, kinship terms and the common topics in motherese. It analyses also the length, reconstruction and elaboration of utterances together with some semantic features like naming, the use of baby talk lexical terms, the use of nonsense and anomatopoeic words, babbling and sound effects in motherese. It outlines also some of the phonological features in motherese like the use of high pitch, whispering and the tempo of speech addressed to children.