All over the world adults use baby talk with young children, changing their speech a little. Most of the languages that people have studied have lots of vowels, like English, with a, e, i, o, u, ai, ei, au, and more. Warlpiri has only three vowels: a, i, u.
Do Warlpiri adults change their vowels (a, i, u) in baby talk?
Yes, they do! Adults make vowel sounds a little differently in baby talk. And they make their words sound more like young children’s words when they talk to them. As Warlpiri researcher Alice Nelson Napurrurla says:
“When we are sitting and talking with the little ones, we must always use their words … like when we say ‘mangarri‘ (food), ‘miyi‘ (vegetable food), they say ‘nyanya‘ (food). Or when we say ‘jinta-kari’, ‘jinta-kari‘ means ‘another one’, but the little ones they use ‘jija-jayi‘ (another one) … we’ve got to use their language.”
Adults also change their vowels more in words that name things (nouns). Maybe this helps the children learn new words. The adults are probably not thinking about their vowels, and they are not aware of how they are changing them. It just happens naturally. Later, it changes again.
Arrernte researcher Vanessa Davis Napaljarri says:
“As children grow older, baby talk changes, and the ‘tune’ of how adults speak to children changes.”
How did we do this study?
We video-recorded four Warlpiri adults talking to adults and children in their families. We measured how the vowels (a, i, u) are said in words by each person. We compared how the adults said words to other adults and to the children, and also how the children said their words.
Why is this study important?
This study adds to what we know about baby talk styles across the world. It also shows that it is important to study languages like Warlpiri, to learn more about all of the languages in the world.
See our study in the international journal Phonetica.
Ketyeye akweke angkentye akaltye-irreme | Kurdu-kurdu kuja kalu yimi pina-jarrimi 