---
dataset_info:
  features:
  - name: text
    dtype: string
  splits:
  - name: train
    num_bytes: 198328228
    num_examples: 76529
  download_size: 103113616
  dataset_size: 198328228
configs:
- config_name: default
  data_files:
  - split: train
    path: data/train-*
license: mit
task_categories:
- text-generation
language:
- en
- eu
- es
- pt
- sv
- he
- af
- it
- fr
- de
- ca
tags:
- language
- acquisition
- child
- childes
- linguistics
- babyLM
---

# multiCHILDES: Multilingual Child-Directed Speech Dataset

## Dataset Description
This dataset contains child-directed speech from **19 languages**, extracted from the **CHILDES** corpus. The text has been **cleaned** and is designed for **text generation** tasks, particularly in studying early language acquisition.

## Dataset Details
- **Source:** CHILDES corpus
- **Languages:** 19 languages
- **Text Type:** Child-directed speech
- **Task:** Text Generation, Language Modeling
- **Data Processing:** The dataset has been cleaned to remove inconsistencies and noise.

## Intended Use
This dataset is suitable for:
- Training and evaluating **language models** for early language acquisition
- Studying cross-linguistic differences in child-directed speech
- Supporting research in **psycholinguistics** and **computational linguistics**

## Usage
To load the dataset using `datasets` from Hugging Face:

```python
from datasets import load_dataset

dataset = load_dataset("IParraMartin/multiCHILDES")
print(dataset["train"][0])
```

## Data Statistics
- **Total Samples:** 76529
- **Average Utterance Length:** 500

## Data Collection and Preprocessing
- **Source:** Extracted from CHILDES (MacWhinney, 1998)
- **Preprocessing Steps:**
  - Removed extraneous annotations
  - Normalized text
  - Filtered out noisy data

## Limitations & Biases
- The dataset is limited to **child-directed speech**, making it unsuitable for general-purpose NLP tasks.
- The representation of languages depends on **CHILDES availability** and **data quantity**, which may introduce selection bias.
- Possible transcription errors or inconsistencies from the original sources.

## Citation
If you use this dataset, please cite:

```bibtex
@article{macwhinney1998childes,
  title={The CHILDES system},
  author={MacWhinney, Brian},
  journal={Handbook of child language acquisition},
  pages={457--494},
  year={1998},
  publisher={Brill}
}
```

## Acknowledgments
Special thanks to the **CHILDES project** for providing high-quality child language data and to the **Hugging Face community** for enabling open dataset sharing.