Infant vocal development during the first 6 months: speech quality and melodic complexity

Abstract

The early development of infant non‐distress vocalizations was investigated in this study. Thirteen infants, from 4 to 24 weeks of age, and their mothers were observed weekly in a face‐to‐face interaction situation. The speech quality (syllabic versus vocalic) and melodic complexity (simple versus complex) of infant vocalizations were coded independently. Based on speech quality and melodic complexity, four types of infant non‐distress vocalizations were categorized: simple and complex syllabic (speech‐like) vocalizations as well as simple and complex vocalic (non‐speech‐like) vocalizations. Results showed that complex syllabic sounds were of longer duration and complex vocalic sounds were less frequent than the other types of vocalizations. Curvilinear developmental trends were found in the rate of simple vocalic sounds and in the mean duration of complex syllabic sounds. Furthermore, before 4 months of age, vocalic sounds were more likely to be associated with simple melodic contours, after which syllabic sounds were more likely to be associated with complex melodic contours. A dynamic systems perspective on the early development of infant vocalization is discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Gestural-vocal coordination

“…A vocalization was defined following the definition by Bloom et al (1987), used in subsequent studies about vocalizations in infants (Masataka, 1993a;Masataka, 1993b;Masataka, 1995;Hsu, et al 2000;Hsu y Fogel, 2001). We considered a vocalization as a discrete, continuously voiced sound occurring within a single respiration.…”

Thin Slice Sampling of Video Footage for Mother/Child Interaction: Application to Single Cases

“…Maternal behaviours such as the expression of affect (Moore et al 1997), eye-gaze towards the child (Stern 1983), touch (Tronick 1995), and vocalisation (Hsu and Lavelli 2005) have been found to be predictive of a range of infant outcomes (Feldman et al 1999, 2004b; Gable and Isabella 1992; Hsu and Fogel 2001; Hsu et al 2000; Hsu and Lavelli 2005; Moore et al 1997; Murray and Hornbaker 1997; Treyvaud et al 2009). Interactional parental behaviour has been found to vary according to culture (Feldman et al 2006; Hsu and Lavelli 2005), presence of maternal postnatal depression (Milgrom et al 2004) and the status of the sibling/s within the family unit (Feldman et al 2004a; Moore et al 1997).…”

Properties of vocalization- and gesture-combinations in the transition to first words

“…From three months of age, and throughout the first year, vocalization rate increases (Camp, Burgess, Morgan & Zerbe, 1987), and qualitative changes occur contingent upon social stimulation (Bloom, Russell & Wassenberg, 1987;Masataka, 1993a,b). Subsequently, the transition from these preverbal vocalizations to words occurs in a continuous, gradual way (Hsu, Fogel & Cooper, 2000;Karousou & López-Ornat, 2013;Majorano & D'Odorico, 2011;Vihman, Ferguson & Elbert, 1986). On the other hand, the use of gestures throughout the first year, especially the pointing gesture, has predictive value for subsequent lexical development (Bates, Benigni, Bretherton, Camaioni & Volterra, 1979;Camaioni, Castelli, Longobardi & Volterra, 1991;Rowe, Özçaliskan & GoldinMeadow, 2008), though it should be noted that this predictive value for language development only applies when the pointing gesture has a declarative or general function, and not when it has an imperative function (Colonnesi, Stams, Koster & Noom, 2010).…”