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baby talk
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.
- Also called par·ent·ese [pair-, uh, n-, teez, -, tees, par-]. 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.
baby talk
noun
- the speech of very young children learning to talk
- an adult's imitation of this
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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.
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Word History and Origins
Origin of baby talk1
First recorded in 1830–40
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Example Sentences
Nina, delighted to see the animal once more, was caressing his long ears and mumbling baby-talk to him.
From Project Gutenberg
She did not wear pretty dresses nor laugh nor address baby talk to "Boo'ful."
From Project Gutenberg
It is all idle to talk baby-talk, and give shallow accounts of deep things, thinking thereby to interest the child.
From Project Gutenberg
The men89 chattered, the women laughed, and there was an affectation of baby-talk at nearly every table.
From Project Gutenberg
At twenty she had been addicted to baby talk when endeavouring to coax something out of someone.
From Project Gutenberg
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