The fourth chapter of Mathew Saxton's textbook “Child Language“ is dedicated to the role input, particularily Child Directed Speech (CDS), plays in a child's ability to acquire language. In this literature summary I will I will provide a brief outline of his argumentation and compare it to corresponding section of the chapter about communication development in Infancy in 'The Developement of Language' by Jearn Berko Gleason and Nan Bernstein Ratner.
Saxton describes linguistic input as the “fuel” which powers first language acquisition, and points out that child directed speech is a special register, designed in a way that might make it easier for the child to learn different aspects of language (Saxton, 80). Gleason and Ratner, although they mostly use the term caregiver's speech or baby talk, agree on this, and make a point to distinguish child directed speech from parents imitating the babbling of an infant (39).
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Another criticism both chapters address is the the fact that most studies only examined Nort American middle class families, and thus cannot make generalized statements about CDS in other languages and cultures (Saxton, 81; Gleason & Ratner, 40), or even other social classes (Saxton, 85). However, within the examined group of middle class families there turned out be a positive link between the exposure to CDS and the later linguistic ability of the child (Saxton,