Babytalk (Noun)
Meaning 1
An adult's imitation of the speech of a young child.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The new mother spoke to her infant in babytalk, cooing and making silly sounds to try and get a smile.
- His wife rolled her eyes good-naturedly as he began to speak in babytalk to their puppy.
- The actress struggled to get into character, trying to recall the babytalk she used to use with her own kids.
- In the movie, the father used ridiculous babytalk to communicate with his toddler, much to the amusement of the audience.
- Her grandmother's use of babytalk made her feel like a little kid again, even at the age of 25.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
The developing speech of a young child.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The toddler's babytalk was adorable as she babbled away in her high chair.
- Her babytalk was a mix of real words and made-up sounds that only her family could understand.
- At 18 months, the child's babytalk was starting to sound more like real language, but still had a long way to go.
- As her vocabulary grew, her babytalk gradually became recognizable as words and phrases.
- The developmental psychologist studied the babytalk of children at various ages to understand language acquisition.