baby talk
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noun
the speech of children learning to talk, marked by syntactic differences from adult speech and by phonetic modifications like lisping, lalling, and the omission and substitution of sounds.
a style of speech used by adults in addressing children, pets, or sweethearts, and formed in imitation of the voice and pronunciation of children learning to talk: it is generally characterized in English by the addition of diminutive endings to words, the use of special words and pet names, and the systematic distortion of certain words, as dolly for doll, teensy-weensy for tiny, oo for you, and twain for train.
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Solving the Mystery Of Babbling Baby Talk“Baby needa burpie?! Yeees?? [burp] Oh! WHOOOZa good baby? YOU are! Yeeesssssyouare!” Whether you find this adorable or aggravating, gaggles of parents around the world speak to their infants in singsong “goos” and “gahs.” The style has diverse names, from baby talk and motherese (but what about Dad?) to the neutral and more official-sounding child- or infant- directed speech. Whatever you choose to call it, …
Nearby words
baby primrose, baby snatcher, baby split, baby spot, baby step, baby talk, baby tee, baby tooth, baby wipe, baby's breath, baby's-breath
Origin of baby talk
First recorded in 1830–40
Usage note
Baby Talk is used as a label in this dictionary for well-known terms traditionally thought to exemplify the type of baby talk used by adults.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for baby talk
British Dictionary definitions for baby talk
baby talk
noun
the speech of very young children learning to talk
an adult's imitation of this
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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