UPL, Univ Paris Nanterre, Laboratoire Ethologie, Cognition, Développement (LECD-EA3456), F92000, Nanterre, France.
UMR 7179, CNRS/MNHN, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort (ENVA), 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.
Sci Rep. 2017 Jul 10;7(1):4980. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-04671-z.
Humans speak to dogs using a special speech register called Pet-Directed Speech (PDS) which is very similar to Infant-Directed Speech (IDS) used by parents when talking to young infants. These two type of speech share prosodic features that are distinct from the typical Adult-Directed Speech (ADS): a high pitched voice and an increased pitch variation. So far, only one study has investigated the effect of PDS on dogs' attention. We video recorded 44 adult pet dogs and 19 puppies when listening to the same phrase enounced either in ADS or in PDS or in IDS. The phrases were previously recorded and were broadcasted via a loudspeaker placed in front of the dog. The total gaze duration of the dogs toward the loudspeaker, was used as a proxy of attention. Results show that adult dogs are significantly more attentive to PDS than to ADS and that their attention significantly increases along with the rise of the fundamental frequency of human' speech. It is likely that the exaggerated prosody of PDS is used by owners as an ostensive cue for dogs that facilitates the effectiveness of their communication, and should represent an evolutionarily determined adaptation that benefits the regulation and maintenance of their relationships.
人类与狗交流时会使用一种特殊的言语模式，称为宠物导向言语（PDS），这种言语模式与父母与幼儿交流时使用的婴儿导向言语（IDS）非常相似。这两种言语都具有与典型成人导向言语（ADS）不同的韵律特征：高声调，音高变化更大。到目前为止，只有一项研究调查了 PDS 对狗注意力的影响。我们视频记录了 44 只成年宠物犬和 19 只幼犬在听到 ADS、PDS 或 IDS 中相同短语时的反应。这些短语是事先录制的，并通过放置在狗面前的扬声器播放。狗对着扬声器的总注视时间被用作注意力的代理指标。结果表明，成年犬对 PDS 的注意力明显高于 ADS，并且随着人类言语的基频升高，它们的注意力显著增加。PDS 的夸张韵律很可能被主人用作狗的明示线索，这有助于提高他们交流的有效性，这可能是一种进化决定的适应，有利于调节和维持他们之间的关系。
