想来大伙日常都常常听到大人对孩子子说“吃饭饭”、“拉臭臭”之类的儿语。英文称之为baby talk。这种儿语到底好坏？能否说？来看看海外的研究吧。
Intonation is also very important to infants' language development in the first months of life.
在婴儿几个月大的时候，语调对其语言进步尤为重要。
Adults tend to speak to babies using a special type of register that we know as 'baby talk' or 'motherese.'
成年人常常用特殊的语调和孩子说话，大家称之为“儿语”或者“母亲语”。
This typically involves a higher pitch than regular speech, with wide, exaggerated intonation changes.
儿语的典型特点是比平常说话的音调更高，语调变化范围更广，更夸张。
Research has shown that babies prefer to listen to this exaggerated 'baby talk' type of speech than typical adult-like speech: They pay more attention when a parent's speech has a higher pitch and a wider pitch range compared to adult-like speech with less exaggerated pitch features.
研究职员发现，孩子们更爱听这种夸张的“儿语”讲话，而不是典型的成人式讲话。当与音调特点不那样夸张的成人讲话相比，爸爸妈妈说话时音调更高，音域更广时，孩子们更能集中注意。
Baby talk tends to be spoken at a slower rate, and key words often appear at the end of a phrase.
儿语一般速度更慢，关键字常常出目前短语的结尾。
Some people consider baby talk to be incredibly annoying, and many believe it can even be harmful to a child's development.
一些人感觉儿语很惹人烦，还有不少人觉得这甚至对孩子的进步有害。
But research has shown speaking slowly in a childish voice is in fact beneficial to children's development.
但研究显示，用儿语对孩子慢慢讲话其实对孩子的进步非常有好处。
Scientists claim it kick-starts their learning of language.
科学家觉得，这能推进孩子的语言学习。
