Toddler talks in monotone

[prefernot]

Probably a stupid question. My dd, just turned 2, is a great speaker. She's got a very good vocabulary and can repeat almost perfectly a few rhymes. One thing that loads of people keep commenting on is how 'odd' her voice is. It's a quiet voice, slightly husky, and strangely monotone, personally I find it rather beautiful but as I say, without fail when she speaks people comment both on how good her talking is and how unusual her voice sounds. She says everything as though she's delivering a one note speech in little breathy bursts. Occasionally when she's playing with toys she'll make them speak slightly more 'musically' or if she says 'ooh look!' Does it mean anything or is it nothing at all?

[prettycandles]

If you recite a poem or tell a simple story with exagerated speech patterns, and always tell it that way, does your dd mimic that pattern? Particularly if the exageration in your speech isn't accompanied by gestures or facial expressions, in other words it is purely heard.

[prefernot]

No, I don't think she does. She does an incredibly monotone baa baa black sheep. But I'll try it more specifically. What are you getting at with this suggestion? Is it going to tell me anything? Or is it a gentle hint that maybe I talk in a monotone and she's copying me ?

[prettycandles]

I don't want to be alarmist, but I couldn't help wondering whether she might have problems with her hearing. It's just that I know that when I have a heavy cold and it affects my hearing, then I get the impression (from people I talk to) that my speech is unclear or too quiet. It can be very difficutl to notice hearing-loss in a child, especially in an intelligent and articulate one.

On the other hand, I can tell exactly which songs ds has learned at nursery or sings a lot there, and which he learned at home from me or my mum, because the nursery staff can't sing for tuppence (they're lovely super people) wherease I can just about carry a tune if you give me a big enough bucket. So 'nursery' songs are droned, whereas 'home' songs have some tunefullness to them.

[coppertop]

My ds1 (now 4yrs) used to speak in a monotonous voice. If copying something that someone else had said, he would copy their exact intonation too. If using his own words he had what we called his dalek voice.

He doesn't do it much now though. In fact I'd almost forgotten about it until I saw this thread.

[popsycal]

I was going to ask a similar question. A relative of mine has a 2.5 year old. Language skills are excellent - understands everything - and can string words together into mini sentences. Only those close to her however, can understand what she is saying. She also seems to talk through her nose so the letter T for example is a snort through her nose first with a brief T sound at the end.
My DS isnt as advanced as her verbally - he does undertstand everything and can communicate in 2 and 3 words sentences. But the obvious difference is the clarity of the words he says and the extreme expression in his voice (to an almost comical level at times).

My relatives dd has no expression but can recite nursery rhymes and numbers (and can apparetny recognise numbers to 20) but I can't understand a word - and I see her very regularly.

Should I talk to the mum?

[prefernot]

Popsycal, my dd doesn't sound like your relatives dd because she pronounces very well and clearly and is very easy to understand even when saying words like 'corridor' or 'bicycle' which she says as well as I do.

I don't know if there might be a hearing problem. Obviously she can hear because she responds to what I'm saying when she's not looking at me, turns if I call her, plays a 'listening game' with me in the park when we discuss all the things we can hear around us. Would there be something else I should look out for?

Maybe it's a 'dalek voice' when using her own sentences like coppertop says.