A comparative analysis of mother-father speech in the naturalistic home environment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare qualitatively and quantitatively the communicative interactions of fathers and mothers with their young child in the naturalistic home environment. Ten couples of similar background served as subjects. Three different settings-(a) mother and child, (b) father and child, and (c) mother and father with child-were arranged and 30-minute tape-recordings were made in the homes with the use of wireless recording equipment. Although differences were found as mothers and fathers interacted alone with their child, the similarities outweighed the differences. When both parents were together with their child, there were even fewer differences. The results indicate that both parents can provide very similar programmable input for the child and that the child acquires languages in a rich and highly varied linguistic environment. © 1984 Plenum Publishing Corporation.