Engajamento social no bebê de 4-5 meses em um diálogo com falantes familiares e estrangeiros: em direção a uma abordagem integrativa

Abstract

The main objective of this thesis is to find out whether, beyond linguistic and social preferences for their native language and its users, infants younger than 6 months become involved with the rhythms and dialogical opportunities of speech. We chose to study the communicative behavior of infants aged 4 to 5 months because this constitutes a pivotal period for the integration of communicative competence. On the one hand, turn-taking is still a predominant type of organization in social interaction, and on the other hand, infants at this age are still more interested in social partners than in solitary object exploration. Furthermore, this period is usually thought to precede enculturation or the possibility of cultural learning. Yet, by 5 months, infants behave differently with a native language speaker than with a foreign language speaker and with a familiar person than with a stranger. This thesis includes 3 studies aimed at gaining insight into the social engagement of infants in situations of real and potential communication with social partners. The first study focuses on differences in vocal turn-taking organization between Brazilian and French cultural contexts. The second studys aim is to shed light on the various expressive modalities infants use responsively in both cultural contexts during pauses between maternal utterances. In the third study, which is experimental, we wanted to know whether a French infant would have different expectations when faced with a French-speaking interlocutor compared with an interlocutor speaking a foreign language (Brazilian in this case). Overall, this thesis also makes a case for a more integrative approach to the study of infant communication, away from a dualist vision separating the body from thought, familarity from novelty and innate from learned behavior and moving towards a more hollistic perspective on humans beings.