Polyadic language socialization strategy: The case of toddlers in senegal

Abstract

Research on child‐directed speech in European and North American societies has shown that, through verbal accommodations, Western caregivers put themselves in the child's perspective to engage him or her in a conversational dialogue. However, for some authors, this general pattern is not characteristic of all societies. This study seeks to contribute to the debate by examining the use of two types of utterances (reported speech and prompts) in interactions involving mothers, toddlers, and other adults or siblings in a Wolof community in rural Senegal. It showed that the proportions of reported speech were higher when the child was younger (16–22 months), whereas prompting was more frequent when the child was older (24–28 months). Thus, Wolof mothers change strategies as the child grows older, and they adapt their speech to the child's level of cognitive development. The adaptation is oriented, however. Mothers attempt to promote exchange in a triadic framework, with the goal of making the child part of a complex set of social relationships. This framing of speech is an anticipatory look at future discursive regulations in operation in Wolof society.

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