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Language Development

Language 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...

Components of Language

Components 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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 10, 2025

Portable Intermodal Preferential Looking IPL: Investigating Language Comprehension in Typically Developing Toddlers and Young Children with Autism

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Published on: December 14, 2012

Describing the Spoken Language Skills of Typically Developing Afrikaans-Speaking Children Using Language Sample

Petria Liebenberg¹, Jeannie van der Linde¹, Isabella Schimper¹

¹Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools

|February 14, 2023

Summary

A 30-minute language sample is sufficient for assessing Afrikaans-speaking children. This study provides crucial data for language sample analysis (LSA) and clinical guidelines in Afrikaans.

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Last Updated: Aug 10, 2025

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Published on: December 14, 2012

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Published on: June 30, 2020

Area of Science:

Speech and Language Pathology
Developmental Linguistics
Psycholinguistics

Background:

Language sample analysis (LSA) is a key method for language assessment.
Optimal sample length and data for non-mainstream languages like Afrikaans are limited.
This complicates reliable LSA for diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

To establish guidelines for representative language sample length in Afrikaans.
To offer a preliminary description of spoken language skills in Afrikaans-speaking children.
To validate LSA for Afrikaans language assessment.

Main Methods:

Descriptive research design with 30 typically developing Afrikaans-speaking children (3;6–9;6 years).
Analysis of 1-hour naturalistic interaction recordings using adapted Sampling Utterances and Grammatical Analysis Revised procedures.
Transcription and analysis of audio-video samples.

Main Results:

Key language measures (MLU, WPM, D WPM) stabilized at 30 minutes.
No significant differences between 30-minute and longer samples.
Morphology, lexical diversity, and developmental trajectories align with existing research.

Conclusions:

A 30-minute language sample is representative for Afrikaans-speaking children aged 3;6–9;6.
The study provides preliminary developmental data and clinical guidelines for Afrikaans.
LSA is confirmed as a reliable tool for language assessment in Afrikaans.