Shimada’s CCI Plan

Infant Sound Production as Playing;
Sound, Listening and Interaction

Yohko Shimada
Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University

Abstract

Why do people sing? Why do we sing alone and sing together? Studies on interaction between young babies and their family will give us essential clues to answer these questions. I have been researching on the developmental origin of singing and the role of singing in human communication.

Sometimes infants produce “cheerful” sound when alone. Although mothers know that babies occasionally “sing” alone, we do not know why they do so. For what do they vocalize alone? It could be for communicating with others, or for joy of sound. I was engaged in an experimental research to find out the purposes for which babies produce singing-like sound. For the research, I visited baby’s home and observed babies’ comfortable vocalization (not crying!) in solitude. Actually, babies were “singing” continuously when alone. And they did so even longer when they were listening to the echo (from speakers) of their own sound. With this CCI project, I am going to investigate how a shift from mere “singing in solitude” to “singing as/for communication” takes place during early infancy. Every sound produced by babies during the interaction with mothers or young siblings will tell us how singing and communication develop together. I hope I can listen to your voice and your children’s!