Infants prefer infant-directed speech (IDS) over adult-directed speech (ADS). IDS is thought to serve specific functions compared to ADS:
- Attracting infant attention to the speech signal
- Conveying clear opportunities for easier word segmentation.
Two independent domains of complexity that are embedded in the speech stream:
- Amplitude complexity: Lower amplitude complexity associates with greater ease in identifying word boundaries
- Frequency complexity: Higher fre q uency complexity associates with more attention eliciting speech attention by inducing uncertaint
