Quiché Mayan speech to children

Abstract

Details of the linguistic modifications in speech to children are provided for the Mayan language Quiché. Quiché input is evaluated with respect to 17 features listed in Ferguson (1978). Eight additional features are noted for Quiché speech to children: whispering, initial-syllable deletion, BT forms for verbs, a verbal suffix that appears exclusively in speech to children, a relatively fixed word order with relatively fewer overt noun phrases, more imperatives, and a special interpretive routine. Quiché parents have a special register for speaking to young children. However, Quiché speech to children has only five of the features that Ferguson cites: repetition, BT forms for qualities, compound verbs, diminutives, and special sounds. This suggests that the features of speech to children are not universal, but are determined by the conventions for interacting with children in each community. Functional explanations of such features will have to take this degree of cultural variation into consideration.