Language Attitudes Regarding Communication with Young Children and the Use of Diminutives

Abstract

Parental attitudes play a crucial role in shaping children’s language development. Language attitudes within families and parental beliefs about communicating with young children are under-researched, particularly in Estonia. This study aims to investigate language attitudes in Estonian-speaking families regarding communication with children under three years old. Using data collected via a web-based questionnaire from 246 Estonian families, the article addresses the following questions: How important do Estonian-speaking parents consider communication with young children during early stages of language development, including the pre-verbal period?; Do parents believe that speaking to young children should differ from communication with adults?; What specific features of child-directed speech (e.g., the use of diminutives) are known and applied by parents?; How do language ideologies about child-directed communication relate to socio-economic factors such as parental education, age, language skills, or residential environment (e.g., rural vs. urban)? The findings contribute to understanding the interplay between individual attitudes and beliefs in language strategies used with speaking with young children. Almost all parents considered speaking with children very important. Altogether, 58% of respondents answered that one should speak even with pre-verbal children, 67% reported that they use diminutives when speaking with children. Attitudes were more strongly expressed by individuals who indicated that they do not use a different register when speaking with children. Many respondents justified their perspective by emphasizing the importance of using normative and correct language with young children. Socio-economic status factors such as age, education, language skills, and residential environment did not appear to influence attitudes toward communicating with small children.