A Developmental Study of Lexico-Phonological Distance in Vocabulary Learning: Evidence From Typically Developing and...

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Developmental Psychology
• Education

Background:

• Arabic diglossia presents unique challenges for vocabulary acquisition due to linguistic variation.
• Understanding factors influencing lexical development is crucial for identifying and supporting children with learning disabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of lexico-phonological distance in vocabulary acquisition among Arabic-speaking children.
• To examine how this distance affects typically developing (TD) and learning-disabled (LD) children.
• To explore developmental stability and modality asymmetries in relation to lexico-phonological distance.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 299 Arabic-speaking children (Grades 1-6) with and without learning disabilities.
• Assessment of receptive and expressive vocabulary performance across different word types (identical, cognates, unique).
• Analysis of interactions between grade level, word type, and learning disability status.

Main Results:

• Vocabulary acquisition followed a gradient: identical words were easiest, unique words hardest, and cognates intermediate.
• This hierarchy remained stable across development and between TD and LD groups for receptive and expressive tasks.
• The performance gap between TD and LD children widened for unique words, indicating greater challenges for LD children.
• Expressive vocabulary was more sensitive to lexico-phonological distance than receptive vocabulary.

Conclusions:

• Lexico-phonological distance is a persistent constraint on lexical acquisition in Arabic diglossia.
• Children with learning disabilities are disproportionately affected by lexico-phonological distance, especially with unique words.
• Findings support theories linking linguistic distance to representational quality and lexical access efficiency.