Paternal and Maternal Speech in Early Language Development: A Descriptive Quantitative Study

Lourdes  Dayot,; Julieta  D. Francisco,; Reynante  I. Enriquez,

Paternal and Maternal Speech in Early Language Development: A Descriptive Quantitative Study

Reynante I. Enriquez | Lourdes Dayot | Julieta D. Francisco

Discipline: social sciences (non-specific)

Abstract:

It is at this frontier that the current study falls, exploring maternal and paternal lexical quality of language and its association with early language abilities at 36 months. Utilizing a quantitative descriptive research design the study aimed to (1) provide description on lexical aspects in mothers’ speech and fathers’ speech, (2) examine the relationship of paternal speech with language outcome of children and (3) compare formal and functional aspect in both mothers’ speech and fathers’ speech. This research was done in six barangays in Zamboanga City and covered 10 families purposively sampled. The family members in each household included the father, mother and their child. Recordings and Transcripts of Parental Input Play sessions with their child were audio-recorded, during which parents sat with their child for 15 minutes and played in a standard set-up. Lexical units were annotated and grouped manually for analysis. Results indicated that fathers and mothers both used nouns and verbs significantly the most in their speech. Mothers were relatively more focused on contextual and affective comments, whereas fathers tended to provide more objectrelated speech. However, a t-test showed that the overall lexical content of maternal and paternal speech did not differ significantly (p > 0.05). This would indicate that early language development is a joint responsibility of both parents. Based on the results of the current study, the authors advise cross-cultural research on parenting, socioeconomic status and cultural groups with larger sample sizes. The data suggest that fathers are an important, but usually under-used, linguistic resource in children’s language development and has implications for parent-training programsto encourage fathers who are not as communicatively active to take ownership of their role in developing language-and policies regarding child care.

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