Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [child-speech]

For questions about the ways in which children learning Japanese (as a first language) speak differently from adults.

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In what ways do Japanese children overgeneralize conjugation patterns?

(Preface: I'm not well-versed in language acquisition, so the context I've provided here will be dumbed-down, or perhaps just dumb.) Context: When children acquire their first language, they typically go through a phase where they take grammatical…
senshin
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Spaces in children's books

Written Japanese ordinarily doesn't use any spaces to separate words. But Japanese children's books do. For example, the opening of Tomi Ungerer's The Three Robbers (すてきな 三にんぐみ) あらわれでたのは、 くろマントに、 くろい　ぼうしの　さんにんぐみ。 それはそれは　こわーい、 どろぼうさまの　おでかけだ。 Are…
Earthliŋ
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What are the general patterns of child-directed speech in Japanese?

In English, parents usually talk to their kids differently from how they usually talk. The words they use when doing so usually ends in -y. For example, "kitten" becomes "kitty", "I" usually turns into "Mommy" or "Daddy" depending on who the parent…
Sweeper
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Is this word slang? アメテ

I can't find a definition for this word アメテ. Aside from sounding like an amateur, the word didn't make sense in the context. In the context, a character was flipping out. The entire sentence he screamed was: アメテ!! Is this just a random sound he…
user3538
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Is おまわりさん a childish term?

Since I learned おまわりさん and けいかん I always wondered if the first has a "children language" nuance, or if it is just a friendly/respectful way to call a police officer. Is this the case?
rage
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う◯こ versus う◯ち - which is more childish?

I was watching last week's ホンマでっか, and there one of the learned panel talked about うんこ (or う◯こ as it was subtitled), and Matsuko Deluxe on the celeb panel hectored him with a "Use うんち at least as it's not so childish!" (I could very well have these…
Ken Y-N
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What part-of-speech is ゲゲゲ in ゲゲゲの鬼太郎?

I don't know if "part-of-speech" is the best term here, since it generally has a Western language orientation, but I am curious as to what function the word gegege has in reference to the TV show title GeGeGe no Kitarō. I asked my grandma—a native…
Morella Almånd
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Is there a traditional Japanese kana song or otherwise how are babies familiarised with kana?

I have a newborn son from my Japanese wife. I try to sing to him. I sing the alphabet song (English). Japanese kana and their order is the same value for dictionaries. My wife says there isn't one but she isn't traditionally trained. Is there a kana…
user2617804
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Is saying 「XはYは…」 acceptable?

In いっすんぼうし, a very popular fairy tale, this line appears: だいじんは　からだは　ちいさいけれど　げんきな いっすんぼうしを　たいそう　きにいり じぶんの　いえで　はたらかせることにしました。 Is 「だいじんは　からだは」 grammatically correct? What would be done to make this more correct?
molonsha
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"wa" vs. "ga" in the question "do you have...?" (child speak!)

If a child were to casually ask their teacher, "do you have [some object]," which would they say? 先生、「何か」はあるの？ (Sensei, [nanika] ha aru no?) 先生、「何か」があるの？ (Sensei, [nanika] ga aru no?) I think I've heard a child say the second on one occasion,…
F.D.
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body parts in childrens language

At least in my country parents tend to give body parts cute or easier names when talking about them to children. Thus children use them too in their speech. This is especially for sexual connoted body parts like penis, vagina, breasts and so on. I…
steros
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