Longitudinal relationships between lexical and grammatical development in typical and late-talking children
Maura Jones Moyle1, Susan Ellis Weismer, Julia L Evans
1University of Wisconsin, Madison , USA. maura.moyle@marquette.edu
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|April 28, 2007
Summary
Language development in children shows strong links between vocabulary and grammar. While generally similar, late-talking children may experience less grammatical influence on vocabulary growth.
Area of Science:
- Child language acquisition
- Developmental psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Understanding language development is crucial for identifying potential delays.
- The single-mechanism account suggests a unified process underlies language acquisition.
- Comparing typically developing (TD) children with late talkers (LTs) offers insights into language development pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal connections between lexical and grammatical development in TD and LT children.
- To test the validity of the single-mechanism account of language acquisition.
- To compare the developmental trajectories of lexical and grammatical skills in TD versus LT children.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design with 30 LTs and 30 matched TD children.
- Data collected at five time points between 2 years and 5.5 years of age.
- Utilized cross-lagged correlational analyses and linear mixed-effects modeling on language sample data.
Main Results:
- TD children demonstrated bidirectional influence between lexical and grammatical development.
- LT children showed less evidence of syntactic bootstrapping compared to TD children.
- The relationship between lexical and grammatical growth was comparable across both groups in terms of overall growth.
Conclusions:
- Lexical and grammatical development are strongly interconnected in both TD and LT children, supporting the single-mechanism account.
- While overall growth patterns were similar, LTs may rely less on syntactic development to facilitate lexical growth.
- Findings suggest potential differences in the interplay between syntax and vocabulary in children with language delays.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:22Language Development
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
02:20Longitudinal Research
Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
01:27Language and Cognition
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
01:26Longitudinal Studies
Longitudinal studies are also widely used in other medical and social science fields. For instance, in cardiovascular research, they can monitor patients' health over decades to identify risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or smoking, and evaluate the long-term effectiveness of preventive measures. Similarly, in mental health studies, researchers might follow individuals from adolescence into adulthood to understand the development and progression of conditions like...
01:24Components of Language
Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs. “eh”). Phonemes combine to...
01:28Lateralization
Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.