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Measuring the vocabulary spurt: a reply to Mervis & Bertrand
1Department of Psychology, Rhode Island College, Providence 02908, USA.
Journal of Child Language
|February 1, 1996
Summary
This study questions the interpretation of a
Area of Science:
- Child language acquisition
- Developmental psychology
- Linguistic development
Background:
- Mervis & Bertrand reported on three children exhibiting a 'late' vocabulary spurt.
- Assessing productive vocabulary and inferring vocabulary spurts from lexicon size can be problematic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate the methodology and conclusions of Mervis & Bertrand's study on late vocabulary spurts.
- To highlight limitations in comparing different studies of vocabulary development.
Main Methods:
- Critique of existing assessment methods for productive vocabulary.
- Analysis of the inference between lexicon size and vocabulary spurt rate.
Main Results:
- Differences in productive vocabulary assessment methods complicate direct comparisons between studies.
- Lexicon size alone may not be a reliable indicator of the rate of vocabulary spurt.
Conclusions:
- The comparison of the studied children to previous research is inappropriate due to methodological differences.
- Further research requires continuous lexical development records and controlled cognitive assessments to validate hypotheses about vocabulary spurts and related achievements.
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