Electronic media and social features of language input in bilingually-raised Latinx infants

Abstract

The present study examines the language environments of bilingually-raised Latinx infants (n = 37) to characterize the relation between exposure to electronic media and infants’ language input, with a specific focus on parentese, a near-universal style of infant-directed speech, distinguished by its higher pitch, slower tempo, and exaggerated intonation. Previous research shows that parentese and parent-infant turn-taking are both associated with advances in children’s language learning. Here we test the hypothesis that exposure to electronic media is associated with a reduction in these two social features of language input. Using the Language Environment Analysis (LENA) technology, two daylong audio recordings were collected from each family. Exposure to electronic media was measured in three ways: 1) Through LENA’s automatic estimate; 2) Through manual annotation of LENA audio recordings; and 3) Through a parental questionnaire. Language of electronic media, parental language input, and child language output were quantified through automatic and manual analyses of LENA recordings. Infants’ estimated daily exposure to electronic media varied between the three methods used. There was a significant positive correlation between daily media exposure assessed via the two observational methods, but neither significantly correlated with parental report. Infants experienced electronic media in Spanish and English, and the language of electronic media correlated with the language of paternal and maternal child-directed speech. Linear regression analyses controlling for demographics (infant age, sex, socioeconomic status) demonstrated a negative association between exposure to electronic media and parentese, as well as between exposure to electronic media and turn-taking. Exposure to electronic media was also negatively associated with infants’ linguistic vocalizations. The present findings suggest that exposure to electronic media negatively impacts infant vocal activity by reducing parental parentese and parent-infant turn-taking, which are known to positively impact infants’ linguistic, socioemotional, and cognitive development. This analysis is an important step forward in understanding Latinx infants’ electronic media ecologies and their relation to language input and language development.