baby talk
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See also: babytalk
English
Alternative forms
Noun
- (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[elham] G[renville] 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.
- (linguistics) The pre-language, 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
Related terms
- baby steps
- babytalk (verb)
Translations
form of speech used when talking to babies
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