Crib talk
Encyclopedia
Crib talk or crib speech is pre-sleep monologue
made by young children
while in bed. This starts somewhere around one-and-a-half years and usually ends by about two-and-a-half years of age, though children can continue longer. It consists of conversational discourse
with turn-taking often containing semantically
and syntactically
coherent question-answer sequences. It may contain word play
and bits of song
and nursery rhyme
.
Crib talk has been found in deaf children in their early sign language
. It also occurs in autistic children.
s and doll
s as “friends
” with language embedded in ongoing play
. Whilst like conversational speech, it can occur in long uninterrupted sequences in which the child describes what they are doing.
that have been read to them. They occur throughout the period in which a child engages in crib talk.
.
Such talk is more complex than that done by children in interactions with others, and this has been suggested to be due to the freedom to control what they say and so not have their cognitive abilities stretched by having to work out how to respond to what someone has just said.
While similar to private speech
which usually starts after 3 and ends about 7, crib talk lacks its self-regulatory instructions.
pp. 17–19
The children studied are also atypical in that they are the offspring of researchers or their close colleagues, and so are from highly-educated backgrounds. The child studied by Katherine Nelson
, for example, was highly precocious in her language abilities, which raises questions about the generality of findings on that one child.
(23 months)
's poem In the dark in Now We Are Six
echoes the verbal play of crib talk.
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
made by young children
Toddler
A toddler is a young child, usually defined as being between the ages of one and three. Registered nurse, midwife and author, Robin Barker, states 'Any time from eight months onwards your baby will begin to realise he is a separate person from you...
while in bed. This starts somewhere around one-and-a-half years and usually ends by about two-and-a-half years of age, though children can continue longer. It consists of conversational discourse
Conversation
Conversation is a form of interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people who are following rules of etiquette.Conversation analysis is a branch of sociology which studies the structure and organization of human interaction, with a more specific focus on conversational...
with turn-taking often containing semantically
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
and syntactically
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
coherent question-answer sequences. It may contain word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
and bits of song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
and nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
.
Crib talk has been found in deaf children in their early sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
. It also occurs in autistic children.
Enactment sequences
This occurs most commonly in early monologues and is done in a low tone. It concerns using language to bring about action and occurs when playing with toyToy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s and doll
Doll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
s as “friends
Imaginary friend
Imaginary friends and imaginary companions are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than external physical reality. Imaginary friends are fictional characters created for improvisational role-playing. They...
” with language embedded in ongoing play
Play (activity)
Play is a term employed in ethology and psychology to describe to a range of voluntary, intrinsically motivated activities normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment...
. Whilst like conversational speech, it can occur in long uninterrupted sequences in which the child describes what they are doing.
Proto-narrative
In this a child creates a story about events that have happened or imaginary events in temporal-causal sequences that can be as short as five words or as long as 150. They may include the reciting of storiesBedtime story
A bedtime story is a traditional form of storytelling, where a story is told to a child at bedtime to prepare them for sleep.Bedtime stories have many advantages, for parents/adults and children alike. The fixed routine of a bedtime story before sleeping has a relaxing effect, and the soothing...
that have been read to them. They occur throughout the period in which a child engages in crib talk.
Problem focused
These concern what happened in the past, what will happen in the future and how events are organized. They incorporate descriptions used by others to enable predictionPrediction
A prediction or forecast is a statement about the way things will happen in the future, often but not always based on experience or knowledge...
.
Function
Such monologues have been argued to play a key role in providing a practice space for developing complex connected discourse, aiding a child to use language as a tool to categorize, explain and know the world, and to “clarify what may originally have been problematic or troublesome”.Such talk is more complex than that done by children in interactions with others, and this has been suggested to be due to the freedom to control what they say and so not have their cognitive abilities stretched by having to work out how to respond to what someone has just said.
While similar to private speech
Private speech
Children from two to about seven years old can be observed engaging in private speech -- speech spoken to oneself for communication, self-guidance, and self-regulation of behavior . Although it is audible, it is neither intended for nor directed at others...
which usually starts after 3 and ends about 7, crib talk lacks its self-regulatory instructions.
pp. 17–19
Problems
Crib talk is difficult to transcribe because such young children typically have poor pronunciation, and because there may be little context to infer the likely meaning of a child’s words, even with the help of a parent. This has limited the number of children studied and the length of time over which the development of crib talk monologues have been researched.The children studied are also atypical in that they are the offspring of researchers or their close colleagues, and so are from highly-educated backgrounds. The child studied by Katherine Nelson
Katherine Nelson
Katherine Nelson is an American developmental psychologist, a distinguished professor emerita of psychology at the City University of New York....
, for example, was highly precocious in her language abilities, which raises questions about the generality of findings on that one child.
Studies
Crib talk was first studied by Ruth Hirsch Weir on her son Anthony and published in 1962. Two other studies have been carried out by Stan Kuczaj on 14 children between 15–30 months - published in 1983 - and Katherine Nelson on Emily in 1989.Anthony
Antony is here between 28 and 30 months playing at grammatical transformations and combinations.Step on the blanket
Where is Anthony’s blanket
Where is Anthony’s blanket (falsettoFalsettoFalsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
)
Where’s hiding (falsetto)
Books
Down
Down
Have the books today
I take the white blanket off
On the blanket
Under the blanket
Sleep go
What a blue blanket
What the take the blanketp. 126
Emily
(21 months)
The broke, car broke, the ..
Emmy can’t go in the car.
Go in green car.
No.
Emmy go in the car.
Broken. Broken.
Their car broken, so Mommy Daddy go in their car,
Emmy Daddy go in the car,
Emmy Daddy Mommy go in the car,
broke,
Da … da,
the car … their, their, care broken (continues) .
(23 months)
When mormor get me,
when Mormor mae pretty,
Mommy had a help, my sleep,
Mommy came and Mommy get, get up, time to go home.
When my slep and, and, Mormor came.
Then Mommy coming then get up, time to go ho-o-me.
Time to go home.
Drink p-water [Perrier].
Yesterday did that.
Now Emmy sleeping in regular bed.
In the dark
George Miller has noted that the last two verses of A. A. MilneA. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
's poem In the dark in Now We Are Six
Now We Are Six
Now We Are Six is a book of thirty-five children's verses by A. A. Milne, with illustrations by E. H. Shepard. It was first published in 1927 including poems such as "King John's Christmas", "Binker" and "Pinkle Purr". Eleven of the poems in the collection are accompanied by illustrations featuring...
echoes the verbal play of crib talk.
So — here I am in the dark alone,
There's nobody here to see;
I think to myself,
I play to myself
And nobody knows what I say to myself;
Here I am in the dark alone,
What is it going to be?
I can think whatever I like to think,
I can play whatever I like to play,
I can laugh whatever I like to laugh,
There's nobody here but me.
I'm talking to a rabbit ...
I'm talking to the sun ...
I think I am a hundred
I'm one.
I'm lying in a forest ...
I'm lying in a cave ...
I'm talking to a Dragon ...
I'm BRAVE.
I'm lying on my left side ...
I'm lying on my right ...
I'll play a lot tomorrow ...
...........
I'll think a lot tomorrow ...
...........
I'll laugh ...
a lot ...
tomorrow ...
(Heigh-ho !)
Goodnight
See also
- BabblingBabblingBabbling is a stage in child development and a state in language acquisition, during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering sounds of language, but not yet producing any recognizable words...
- Baby talkBaby talkBaby talk, also referred to as caretaker speech, infant-directed speech or child-directed speech and informally as "motherese", "parentese", "mommy talk", or "daddy talk" is a nonstandard form of speech used by adults in talking to toddlers and infants.It is usually delivered with a "cooing"...
- BedtimeBedtimeBedtime, in Western parenting tradition, involves to a greater or lesser extent, rituals made to help children feel more secure, and become accustomed toward a comparatively more rigid sleep schedule than they would otherwise establish....
- ConversationConversationConversation is a form of interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people who are following rules of etiquette.Conversation analysis is a branch of sociology which studies the structure and organization of human interaction, with a more specific focus on conversational...
- Imaginary friendImaginary friendImaginary friends and imaginary companions are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than external physical reality. Imaginary friends are fictional characters created for improvisational role-playing. They...
- MonologueMonologueIn theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
External links
There are hardly any audio examples posted on the internet (see talk page).- Anjoli waking up Has music in background