Vocal accommodation in family and peer networks in mid-childhood
Résumé
Acoustic variations are found in the vocal communication of many animals, including
humans. Vocal structures can vary in relation to individual characteristics and group
membership. Moreover, individuals can modify their vocalizations to match those of their
partners during vocal exchanges. Although vocal matching has been extensively described by
ethologists and sociolinguistics in adults, their ontogenetic mechanisms and functions remain
unexplored. Therefore, we aimed to study whether and how children adjust their speech to
different partners within both family and peer groups. In this perspective, an intensive singlecase
study was conducted on a ten-year-old boy from a French village known for the use of a
regional dialect. Dyadic conversations were recorded at home with family members and four
close friends according to the duration of the relationship and their native origin. Various
vernacular variants of general and regional local French were examined. Our results showed
that the different partners had different uses of both general and regional variants, and that the
child accommodated his speech to the identity of his partner.