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Abstract
It has been found that the vocalizations of infants are related to later spoken language development. The present study examines these early vocalizations using the measure of volubility, or rate of vocalizations. Volubility of 17 typically developing infants around 12 months of age was longitudinally studied across three conditions: parent talking to and interacting with infant, parent not talking and interacting with infant, and parent talking to interviewer while infant was present in the same room. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in volubility across social conditions, although there was considerable variability across infants. These results suggest that volubility of 12-month-old infants is robust. Infants vocalize even when no one is talking to them or when a stranger is present. Results also indicated that volubility might be associated with a few sociodemographic variables (e.g., sex, language status).