title: Cultural transmission through infant signs: Objects and actions in U.S. and Taiwan.
abstract: Infant signs are intentionally taught/learned symbolic gestures which can be used to represent objects, actions, requests, and mental state. Through infant signs, parents and infants begin to communicate specific concepts earlier than children's first spoken language. This study examines whether cultural differences in language are reflected in children's and parents' use of infant signs. Parents speaking East Asian languages with their children utilize verbs more often than do English-speaking mothers; and compared to their English-learning peers, Chinese children are more likely to learn verbs as they first acquire spoken words. By comparing parents' and infants' use of infant signs in the U.S. and Taiwan, we investigate cultural differences of noun/object versus verb/action bias before children's first language. Parents reported their own and their children's use of first infant signs retrospectively. Results show that cultural differences in parents' and children's infant sign use were consistent with research on early words, reflecting cultural differences in communication functions (referential versus regulatory) and child-rearing goals (independent versus interdependent). The current study provides evidence that intergenerational transmission of culture through symbols begins prior to oral language.
authors.affiliation: Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University, 2G Human Ecology, 552 West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States. Electronic address: wangwe43@msu.edu.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University, 2G Human Ecology, 552 West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States. Electronic address: vallotto@msu.edu.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vallotton
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005868:Gestures; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D009035:Mothers; D013624:Taiwan; D014481:United States
keywords: Independent and interdependent cultures; Infant sign; Noun dominant hypothesis; Referential and regulatory communication; Symbolic gesture