Signature tunes in mothers’ speech to infants

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 2007

Publication Title

Infant Behavior and Development

First Page

648

Last Page

654

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2007.03.003

Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether mothers use discernible tunes (i.e., specific interval sequences) in their speech to infants and whether such tunes are individually distinctive. Mothers were recorded speaking with their infants on two occasions separated by 1 week or more. Examination of the tunes of each mother revealed discernible tunes and frequent repetitions of tunes within and across sessions. Comparisons of utterances with the most common pitch contour (i.e., rising), both within and across mothers, revealed interval patterns that were individually distinctive, or unique. The findings confirm the prominence of tunes and the presence of signature tunes in maternal speech to infants.

Notes

The version of record can be found through Elsevier.

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