baby talk

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See also: babytalk

English

Alternative forms

Noun

baby talk (uncountable)

  1. (linguistics) The form of speech used by adults in talking to very young children.
    Synonyms: babyese, child-directed speech, hypocorism, motherese, parentese
    Coordinate terms: childspeak; adultspeak
    Meronym: babble word
    • 1960, P G Wodehouse, chapter III, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
      [...] while not a super-goof like some of the female goofs I'd met, she was quite goofy enough to be going on with. Her whole aspect was that of a girl who at the drop of a hat would start talking baby talk.
  2. (linguistics) The prelanguage, and subsequent developing language, used by small children, incorporating crying, cooing, and babbling in sequence before the acquisition of adult language capabilities.
    Coordinate terms: child language, childspeak
    Meronyms: babble word, goo goo ga ga

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