We are looking for Canadian mothers* of 18- to 24-month-old infants who primarily speak English to their child.
The data we gather will be compared with data gathered from other English-speaking countries (i.e., England, UK).
In many languages around the world, child/infant-directed speech typically includes higher and lower tones, slower speech, shorter sentences, and words like “doggie”, “moo-cow”, or “choo choo”. In English, we use these characteristics. However, there are many dialects of English – e.g., Australian, Newfoundland English, Northern Ireland, Scottish, Boston, etc.
Our study focuses on two dialects of English. Specifically, Canadian English and West Midlands English in the UK. We have already finished our UK phase of the study, and we are currently looking for Canadian mothers with children between the ages of 18- to 24-months. We are interested in finding out whether English-speaking Canadian and UK mothers use the same characteristics.
*This study is specifically for mothers. Fathers are not included only because the variability of vocal pitch. Other studies include any caregiver.
If you are interested or have questions, please email us at magpies@ualberta.ca or you can find our ChIRP list – in this way, we can contact you when there is a study available.
See our website: Little Magpies Lab for Infant Language Learning