This
study tested the impact of child-directed language input on language
development in Spanish–English bilingual infants (N = 25, 11- and
14-month-olds from the Seattle metropolitan area), across languages and
independently for each language, controlling for socioeconomic status.
Language input was characterized by social interaction variables, defined in
terms of speech style (“parentese” vs. standard speech) and social context
(one-on-one vs. group). Correlations between parentese one-on-one and productive
vocabulary at 24 months (n = 18) were found across languages and in each
language independently. Differences are highlighted between previously
published monolingual samples, which used the same methods as the current
study of bilingual infants. The results also suggest cultural effects on
language input and language development in bilingual and bicultural infants.
