Situational Differences in the Type of Utterances Mothers Use with Thirteen-Month-Old Children.

Types of utterances used by mothers in two different situations with children 13- to 14.5 months old were compared. A set of toys was provided for free play. The toys were also represented in a picture book. Mothers' utterances were classified into five categories: description, attention focus, language elicitation, label, and behavior regulation. Mothers used proportionally more directives in the free play setting, and more focus and label utterances in the book setting. Mothers' use of a category in one setting did not predict its use in the other. Frequent sequences of utterance types used to engage attention, interact, and change topics appeared in both settings. In book reading, sequences tended to be directed toward labeling and describing, whereas in free play, sequences were frequently organized around a child's action. The two situations differed in the strategies mothers used to maintain task-appropriate behavior. It is concluded that maternal speech may demonstrate ways in which language can be used to encode situation-specific goals and shifts in joint attention. Related materials are appended. (Author/RH)