**6. Acquisition of language in the first two years: the role of the mother speech**

Discussing the acquisition of language, several studies have focused on the role of maternal input/speech in the process of language acquisition (Weizman & Snow, 2001; Camaioni & Longobardi, 2001; Lidz, Gleitman & Gleitman, 2003; Pessôa & Seidl-de-Moura, 2008; Pessôa & Seidl-de-Moura, 2011).

Camaioni and Longobardi (2001) examined speech characteristics of fifteen Italian mothers of high middle-class, in a longitudinal study when the children had four and eight months-old, in three specific contexts: playing with familiar toys, playing with new toys, and being fed. It was observed that mothers produced more verbs than substantive in all the analyzed contexts. According to the authors, this result may have a direct relationship to the morphology of Italian language and the structure of the sentences in this language. Results indicate the importance of the knowledge about the syntactic structures of the studied language. This structure will influence the type of sentences emitted by the mothers to their children and their process of initial language acquisition.

In a cross-sectional study carried out by Bornstein and cols. (2004), which aimed at identifying characteristics of the vocabulary of 20 months-old children in Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Korea and United States, the prevalence of substantives, followed by verbs and adjectives was observed. One can think of how cognitive, linguistic and experimental factors, or the associa‐ tion of all these aspects, can contribute to these results. The cultural aspect cannot be left untouched when analyzing the results found in this study. From the moment we hypothesize the influence of maternal input in both the process of language acquisition and the phenom‐ enon of motherese - in which the mother adjusts her speech to the period of child's develop‐ ment - it can be assumed that, in general, mothers use more substantives in her speech and does not have yet the concern with the correct structures of the phrases, as well as the role played by verbs.

It seems that some of the differences observed in maternal characteristics are perhaps a result of cultural and individual aspects, strategies and maternal expectations. On the other hand, children can develop different forms of appropriating the information presented in Child Directed Speech (CDS), and this process may be related to their own individual characteristics.

The literature indicates that different aspects in maternal speech have been investigated in cross-sectional studies since the 1970s. For instance, pragmatic characteristics of maternal speech had been identified in different social classes and contexts and in different children's age levels. Syntactic and semantic aspects of maternal speech and their relationship to the development of language have also been considered. The effect of the frequency and structure of maternal *input* in the development of child language, the effect produced by different types of maternal type *input* in distinct classrooms and in different cultures had also been studied. The primary role played by linguistic interaction in the process of language acquisition and the importance of games and social exchanges in this process had been identified, as well as the importance of joint attention in the development of initial language.

In Brazil, based on the study above, Pessôa and Seid-de-Moura (2011) also had described these trajectories of development in a longitudinal study to analyzed characteristics of maternal speech directed to children, identifying transitions of mother-child communication frames. Four children and their mothers were observed biweekly from 13 to 24 months of age. The instances of maternal speech were classified in affirmative, negative, imperative and interrog‐ ative sentences and the mother-child communication frames were classified in attentional, conventional or symbolic. The transitions from attentional to symbolic mother-child commu‐ nication frames were also identified. A similar trajectory in the percentage of time of the frames throughout the development of the child was observed in all four dyads. Results indicate some common tendencies, which seem to be regulated by the child's development. In general, a developmental sequence was observed for the different frames in terms of their predominance: first attentional, then conventional and latter symbolic, in accordance to the literature (Camaioni et al., 2003). The percentage of time in attentional and symbolic frames showed a

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Mothers' communicative acts are an important part of this scenario. Mothers seem sensitive to the development of their children. They increase CDS linearly in relation to the child's age, use more declarative affirmative sentences and increase linearly the reference to aspects of the surrounding context of the dyad, decreasing the reference to the child him/herself. It seems that child's language development is the most important variable to explain the variations in the type and content of maternal sentences. The great diversity in the number of mothers' emissions indicates an adjustment to the specific characteristics of their children in this initial

All these studies suggest that mothers adjust their behavior to the linguistic development of their children, in order to call their attention to themselves, to what they are speaking and, mainly, to the surrounding context. The significant increase in maternal speech related to the context, throughout the development of the child, seems to indicate that mothers gradually understand what is happening as their children develop across the second year of age.

Mothers make use of language, through different types of sentences (affirmative, imperative and negative) to communicate to their children and to transmit norms, rules, expected behaviors, and information about the world. The use of imperatives, throughout the period studied, can indicate an attempt of mothers to organize children's behaviors, besides being a verbal form to interact to children. The occurrence of interrogative emissions is another indicative of the establishment of linguistic interaction that, along with pauses, create turn

Intuitively, mothers use linguistic resources, through affirmative, negative, imperative and interrogative sentences, to call or to keep the attention of the child directed to them and the situations that involve them. This specific characteristic of maternal sentences has an evolu‐ tionary origin (Tomasello, 2003). After all, the necessary condition to establish a verbal communication between the mother-infant dyad is that the child has the attention directed to

linear relation with the increase of baby's age in all dyads.

taking, which is basic in a process of verbal interaction.

the mother and that they share attention to the context around them.

linguistic phase (Pessôa, 2008).

Between 10 and 24 months of age, children progress from communicating through conven‐ tional signals to communicating through symbols in a variety of situations. Few longitudinal studies focusing on this transition, considering mother-child dyads longitudinally, and using frequent observations over a lengthy period of time have been conducted (i.e. Camaioni, Aureli, Bellagamba & Fogel, 2003; Pessôa & Seidl-de-Moura, 2011).

One important longitudinal study had been carried out by Bornstein, Tal and Rahn (1992). In this study the authors analyzed and compared the language used by mothers with babies of 5 and 13 months of age in four different cultures. The two main aspects of language consisted in informative data, which involved direct questions, phrases, etc., and affective aspects, which corresponded to the use of onomatopoeic sounds, not propositional, rhyme, sounds of animals, etc. Data had evidenced, practically for all cultures, a larger use of speech reflecting affective aspects to the five months-old babies, and the use of more informative language to the thirteen months-old babies. This indicates mothers' sensitivity to the developmental characteristics of their special interlocutors.

Considering that languages and cultural characteristics may influence these processes, a preliminary initiative to study Brazilian dyads had also been made by Pessôa and Seidl-de-Moura (2008). This preliminary study aimed to identify the pragmatic aspects of maternal input, focusing on the affective and cognitive contents of mothers' speech. Two groups were compared: dyads with one month-old babies and other with five months-old babies. They were observed in natural interactions at home, registered in videotapes. Results indicated that mothers' speech had predominantly affective content in both groups, confirming results found in research carried out in other cultures (Bornstein, Tal, & Rahn, 1992). This study consisted in a restricted cross-sectional investigation. No Brazilian longitudinal studies of maternal speech transformations in specific communicative frames have been identified in the literature.

Trying to identify the individual development trajectories of socialization, Camaioni et al. (2003) had described these trajectories of four mother-child dyads. They have analyzed the transitions of communicative frames, observing these dyads (mothers of two boys and two girls) longitudinally, from 10 to 24 months of the children's life. Each dyad was filmed in a laboratory with specific toys, bi-weekly, for a period of ten minutes. Similarities and differen‐ ces between the four dyads have been observed. Among them, it was verified the conventional frame/scenes and the representative gestures served as "bridge" between the attentional frame/scene and the symbolic frame/scene. Observations were organized in three age groups. It was observed that from the 44th to the 66th week all dyads had a predominance of attentional frames; from the 67th to the 85th week, attentional frames/scene also prevailed in dyads 1, 2 and 4, but conventional frames/scene increased substantially in terms of occurrence in time. In contrast, it was identified a predominance of conventional frame/scene for dyad 3. From the 86th week on symbolic frames predominated.

In Brazil, based on the study above, Pessôa and Seid-de-Moura (2011) also had described these trajectories of development in a longitudinal study to analyzed characteristics of maternal speech directed to children, identifying transitions of mother-child communication frames. Four children and their mothers were observed biweekly from 13 to 24 months of age. The instances of maternal speech were classified in affirmative, negative, imperative and interrog‐ ative sentences and the mother-child communication frames were classified in attentional, conventional or symbolic. The transitions from attentional to symbolic mother-child commu‐ nication frames were also identified. A similar trajectory in the percentage of time of the frames throughout the development of the child was observed in all four dyads. Results indicate some common tendencies, which seem to be regulated by the child's development. In general, a developmental sequence was observed for the different frames in terms of their predominance: first attentional, then conventional and latter symbolic, in accordance to the literature (Camaioni et al., 2003). The percentage of time in attentional and symbolic frames showed a linear relation with the increase of baby's age in all dyads.

of maternal *input* in the development of child language, the effect produced by different types of maternal type *input* in distinct classrooms and in different cultures had also been studied. The primary role played by linguistic interaction in the process of language acquisition and the importance of games and social exchanges in this process had been identified, as well as

Between 10 and 24 months of age, children progress from communicating through conven‐ tional signals to communicating through symbols in a variety of situations. Few longitudinal studies focusing on this transition, considering mother-child dyads longitudinally, and using frequent observations over a lengthy period of time have been conducted (i.e. Camaioni,

One important longitudinal study had been carried out by Bornstein, Tal and Rahn (1992). In this study the authors analyzed and compared the language used by mothers with babies of 5 and 13 months of age in four different cultures. The two main aspects of language consisted in informative data, which involved direct questions, phrases, etc., and affective aspects, which corresponded to the use of onomatopoeic sounds, not propositional, rhyme, sounds of animals, etc. Data had evidenced, practically for all cultures, a larger use of speech reflecting affective aspects to the five months-old babies, and the use of more informative language to the thirteen months-old babies. This indicates mothers' sensitivity to the developmental characteristics of

Considering that languages and cultural characteristics may influence these processes, a preliminary initiative to study Brazilian dyads had also been made by Pessôa and Seidl-de-Moura (2008). This preliminary study aimed to identify the pragmatic aspects of maternal input, focusing on the affective and cognitive contents of mothers' speech. Two groups were compared: dyads with one month-old babies and other with five months-old babies. They were observed in natural interactions at home, registered in videotapes. Results indicated that mothers' speech had predominantly affective content in both groups, confirming results found in research carried out in other cultures (Bornstein, Tal, & Rahn, 1992). This study consisted in a restricted cross-sectional investigation. No Brazilian longitudinal studies of maternal speech transformations in specific communicative frames have been identified in the literature. Trying to identify the individual development trajectories of socialization, Camaioni et al. (2003) had described these trajectories of four mother-child dyads. They have analyzed the transitions of communicative frames, observing these dyads (mothers of two boys and two girls) longitudinally, from 10 to 24 months of the children's life. Each dyad was filmed in a laboratory with specific toys, bi-weekly, for a period of ten minutes. Similarities and differen‐ ces between the four dyads have been observed. Among them, it was verified the conventional frame/scenes and the representative gestures served as "bridge" between the attentional frame/scene and the symbolic frame/scene. Observations were organized in three age groups. It was observed that from the 44th to the 66th week all dyads had a predominance of attentional frames; from the 67th to the 85th week, attentional frames/scene also prevailed in dyads 1, 2 and 4, but conventional frames/scene increased substantially in terms of occurrence in time. In contrast, it was identified a predominance of conventional frame/scene for dyad 3. From the

the importance of joint attention in the development of initial language.

Aureli, Bellagamba & Fogel, 2003; Pessôa & Seidl-de-Moura, 2011).

their special interlocutors.

138 Parenting in South American and African Contexts

86th week on symbolic frames predominated.

Mothers' communicative acts are an important part of this scenario. Mothers seem sensitive to the development of their children. They increase CDS linearly in relation to the child's age, use more declarative affirmative sentences and increase linearly the reference to aspects of the surrounding context of the dyad, decreasing the reference to the child him/herself. It seems that child's language development is the most important variable to explain the variations in the type and content of maternal sentences. The great diversity in the number of mothers' emissions indicates an adjustment to the specific characteristics of their children in this initial linguistic phase (Pessôa, 2008).

All these studies suggest that mothers adjust their behavior to the linguistic development of their children, in order to call their attention to themselves, to what they are speaking and, mainly, to the surrounding context. The significant increase in maternal speech related to the context, throughout the development of the child, seems to indicate that mothers gradually understand what is happening as their children develop across the second year of age.

Mothers make use of language, through different types of sentences (affirmative, imperative and negative) to communicate to their children and to transmit norms, rules, expected behaviors, and information about the world. The use of imperatives, throughout the period studied, can indicate an attempt of mothers to organize children's behaviors, besides being a verbal form to interact to children. The occurrence of interrogative emissions is another indicative of the establishment of linguistic interaction that, along with pauses, create turn taking, which is basic in a process of verbal interaction.

Intuitively, mothers use linguistic resources, through affirmative, negative, imperative and interrogative sentences, to call or to keep the attention of the child directed to them and the situations that involve them. This specific characteristic of maternal sentences has an evolu‐ tionary origin (Tomasello, 2003). After all, the necessary condition to establish a verbal communication between the mother-infant dyad is that the child has the attention directed to the mother and that they share attention to the context around them.

Data from the dyads observed in Brazilian studies (Pessôa & Seidl-de-Moura, 2008; Pessôa & Seidl-de-Moura, 2011) indicated that mothers of these studies talk to their children about the situations in which they are involved. They speak about the babies themselves, about the activities carried out jointly by them, and, mainly, about the things and people in the context around them. However, it was possible to observe that almost all maternal emissions are preceded or followed by the children's signals. This means that mothers are not simply communicating information to their children, but are trying to engage them in dialogues. During the initial development, parents are the social agents who better understand children's intentions, attributing meanings to their behaviors, and providing the adequate support they need. Hence, they play an important role as mediators in the construction of children's social and cultural world.

cultural aspects. As we can think, the ability of caregivers to adjust his speech addressed to the baby seems not only to reflect a trait related to social and cultural beliefs, and related to the knowledge they have about development in early stages, but it also seems to be part of the

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Our purpose in this chapter was to present and discuss theoretical and empirical evidence about the role of affection and emotion in parental care and its impacts in the early develop‐ ment. It was particularly taken into account, in addition to emotional development, a cognitive process, language acquisition. It should also be highlighted researchers' concern to underline the diversity of ecological and social-cultural contexts in which the studies had been devel‐

According to an evolutionary view, complex behaviors such as language and emotional expressions rarely appear in an abrupt way and seldom present drastic modifications in a short period of time. It is plausible to think that they had their origins in other previous behaviors and simple biological mechanisms during a slow evolutionary history. Humans are social beings immersed in the socio-cultural context in which they live and are constituted by interacting with others. Therefore, some hypotheses for the origins of language, such as discussed by D. Falk (2004), even include the demands of child care in the environment of evolutionary adaptation and the motherese also can be seen as the result of selective pressures of our ancestral past. According to this view, the selection of vocal language occurred after the first mothers in hominids began to engage in emotional vocalizations directed to their babies. Emotional expressions and affective interactions can also be seen as adaptive processes that

Affection and emotional expressions of the mother are important mediators for both emotional development and for language acquisition. As shown by the evidence presented in this chapter, particularly those regarding the Brazilian mothers residing in Rio de Janeiro, the dynamics of the mother-infant interactions from the beginning of life is characterized by adjustments in maternal behaviors, both emotional expression and speech, according to the possibilities and needs of the baby. Mothers intuitively adjust their speech directed to the baby and his emotional expression in order to promote communication between them and the baby's learning of such mechanisms of expression and interpersonal exchanges. In the Brazilian context, the parental ethnotheories are targeted for the presence of affective components on maternal speech and emotional contingency on mother-infant interaction, from the beginning

It is important to bear in mind that the baby since birth has contact with emotional expressions and affective manifestations of his mother during the interactions established between both, through emotional manifestations of the mother in the body and face and through her speech direct to the baby. This is a cultural trait and how babies learn about others and about themselves. This way, it's reasonable to think that emotion, affection and maternal speech in

baggage of predispositions of our species.

oped, as well as attention to the phylogeny.

were selected by evolutionary mechanisms.

of life.

**7. Some final considerations**

As Keller (2007) points out, one of the components in the parental system of care is the narrative envelope. Babies are wrapped in this narrative envelope and their development processes are immersed on it, including language acquisition. A recent Brazilian research (Pessôa, Seidl-de-Moura, Ramos and Mendes, submitted) aimed to verify parenting values among different young children's caretakers, comparing the speech of differents caretakers (mothers, grand‐ mother, nanny and day-care center teacher) taking into account Keller's (2007) parental care systems (primary care, body contact, body stimulation, object stimulation and face to face interaction). The categories affection and physical contact were some of the most mentioned by all participants. These categories were associated with body contact and primary care systems. In all of the system it was found the category of affection. These analyses have served to illustrate that the affective aspects of speech, those which communicate affection and intimacy, were present in caretaker's speeches since early stages of development. Also we must consider the specific cultural characteristics that may be related to these findings. Different cultures may have different forms of communication and affective manifestations, and can vary in relation to the assigned value to each of these aspects in different moments of ontogeny.

As mentioned, according to a socio-cultural perspective to study human behavior, one cannot separate it from people's social and cultural contexts. Each culture has specific characteristics that need to be taken into account. Based on these assumptions, we believe in the importance of studying universal processes, such as initial language development and characteristics of maternal input in different cultures, to understand what may vary in the trajectories of these processes and what does not. The goal in these studies was to work with data from Brazilian dyads, Portuguese speakers and the trajectories observed, with the advantage of being a longitudinal investigation. Although not frequently used, longitudinal studies are particularly important. So, these studies bring a contribution to the literature on maternal speech and initial language development with data from a Brazilian context.

Most of the studies presented in this chapter indicated that a large proportion of maternal speech occurs in response to signals from the child, and this seems to mean that mothers are not simply passing on information to their children, but are trying to engage them in conver‐ sations and giving affection. Adopting some specific hypotheses on the philogenetic and ontogenetic origins of the language, Tomasello (2003) suggests that the symbolic dimension of the language has its origin in the singular character of human biological adaptation for cultural aspects. As we can think, the ability of caregivers to adjust his speech addressed to the baby seems not only to reflect a trait related to social and cultural beliefs, and related to the knowledge they have about development in early stages, but it also seems to be part of the baggage of predispositions of our species.
