Vocabulary development in Italian children: a longitudinal evaluation of quantitative and qualitative aspects

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAURA D'ODORICO ◽  
STEFANIA CARUBBI ◽  
NICOLETTA SALERNI ◽  
VINCENZO CALVO
Keyword(s):  
Vocabulary Development ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Individual Growth ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Monthly Administration ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Percentile Scores ◽  
Italian Children ◽  
Vocabulary Spurt

In this study vocabulary development of a sample of 42 Italian children was evaluated through monthly administration of the Italian version of the CDI. Data collection started at 1;0–1;1 for 32 children and at 1;3–1;4 for the remaining subjects and continued until children's vocabulary reached 200 words. At fixed stages of vocabulary size (50, 100 and 200 words), individual differences in percentile scores and vocabulary composition were examined. Individual growth curves were analysed in order to verify the presence of a vocabulary spurt and the type of lexical items which contributed most to rapid acceleration in vocabulary growth.Stylistic differences in vocabulary composition were examined regarding the ‘referential–expressive’ distinction, controlling vocabulary size. Data have shown that general trends in vocabulary development are quite similar to those obtained for other languages using CDI adaptations. Moreover, all children in this sample eventually exhibited a vocabulary spurt, even if some can be defined as ‘late spurters’. The type of lexical items which are learned during the spurt depend on both infant vocabulary size and referential score. About 28% of infants in this sample were defined ‘referential’ when their vocabulary size was about 50 words, but the stylistic differences disappeared at the 100- and 200-word stages.Composition of vocabulary did not differ in relation to precocity in reaching different stages of vocabulary development. The only exception was that infants who reached the 50-word stage first also had a vocabulary with a lower proportion of function words.

Early lexical development in German: a study on vocabulary growth and vocabulary composition during the second and third year of life

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 735-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTINA KAUSCHKE ◽  
CHRISTOPH HOFMEISTER
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Lexical Development ◽  
Developmental Patterns ◽  
Word Use ◽  
Vocabulary Growth ◽  
Noun Bias ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Vocabulary Spurt

This paper focuses on aspects of early lexical acquisition in German. There have been conflicting results in the literature concerning both the pattern of vocabulary growth and the composition of the early lexicon. Our study describes the development of various categories of words and questions the preponderance of nouns in spontaneous speech. 32 children were studied longitudinally through recordings made at age 1;1, 1;3, 1;9 and 3;0. The following properties of the data were investigated: vocabulary size in relation to age, frequency of word use, and distribution of word categories. The results show that use of both types and tokens increases with time. A trend analysis indicates an exponential increase in vocabulary production in the second year, followed by a further expansion. This vocabulary spurt-like pattern can be observed in the use of word types and tokens. The findings in regard to vocabulary composition illustrate the dynamics present in the development of word categories. In the beginning, children use mostly relational words, personal-social words and some onomatopoeic terms. These categories are gradually complemented with nouns, verbs, function words and other words so that we see a balanced lexicon by 3;0. Trend analyses clarify characteristic developmental patterns in regard to certain word categories. Our spontaneous speech data does not support a strong noun-bias hypothesis.

Early vocabulary development in Mandarin (Putonghua) and Cantonese

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1115-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
TWILA TARDIF ◽  
PAUL FLETCHER ◽  
WEILAN LIANG ◽  
NIKO KACIROTI
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Vocabulary Development ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Grammatical Function ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Caregiver Education ◽  
Communicative Development ◽  
Parental Reports ◽  
The Difference

ABSTRACTParent report instruments adapted from the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) examined vocabulary development in children aged 0 ; 8 to 2 ; 6 for two Chinese languages, Mandarin (n=1694) and Cantonese (n=1625). Parental reports suggested higher overall scores for Mandarin- than for Cantonese-speaking children from approximately 1 ; 4 onward. Factors relevant to the difference were only-child status, monolingual households and caregiver education. In addition to the comparison of vocabulary scores overall, the development of noun classifiers, grammatical function words common to the two languages, was assessed both in terms of the age and the vocabulary size at which these terms are acquired. Whereas age-based developmental trajectories again showed an advantage for Beijing children, Hong Kong children used classifiers when they had smaller vocabularies, reflecting the higher frequencies and greater precision of classifier use in adult Cantonese. The data speak to the importance of using not just age, but also vocabulary size, as a metric by which the acquisition of particular linguistic elements can be examined across languages.

Early lexical acquisition and the vocabulary spurt: a response to Goldfield & Reznick

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn B. Mervis ◽  
Jacquelyn Bertrand
Keyword(s):  
Vocabulary Development ◽  
Substantial Proportion ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Children First ◽  
Vocabulary Spurt

ABSTRACTVocabulary development of three children (aged 1;6–1;8 at the start of the study) who had not begun to evidence a vocabulary spurt even though their productive vocabularies already included well over 50 words was followed to determine if these children eventually would have a vocabulary spurt. All three children evidenced a spurt, beginning at a mean productive vocabulary size of 112 words. The vocabulary spurt occurred at about the same time as the children first demonstrated the ability to sort objects exhaustively and to fast map new object names. Results are discussed in the context of Goldfield & Reznick's (1990; Reznick & Goldfield, 1992) argument that a substantial proportion of children never evidence a vocabulary spurt.

scholarly journals Size and composition of the lexicon in prematurely born very-low-birth-weight and full-term Finnish children at two years of age

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUVI STOLT ◽  
ANU KLIPPI ◽  
KAISA LAUNONEN ◽  
PETRIINA MUNCK ◽  
LIISA LEHTONEN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Low Birth Weight ◽  
Very Low Birth Weight ◽  
Vocabulary Development ◽  
Full Term ◽  
Grammatical Function ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Lexical Categories ◽  
Female Advantage

This paper focuses on the aspects of the lexicon in 66 prematurely born very-low-birth-weight and 87 full-term Finnish children at 2;0, studied using the Finnish version of the MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventory. The groups did not differ in vocabulary size. Furthermore, the female advantage in vocabulary size was not seen in preterm children. The overall shapes of the trajectories for the main lexical categories as a function of vocabulary size were highly similar in both groups and followed those described in the literature. However, there were significant differences in the percentage of nouns and grammatical function words between the two groups. The results suggest that prematurity ‘cuts off’ the female advantage in vocabulary development. Furthermore, it also seems that there are differences between prematurely born and full-term children in the composition of the lexicon at 2;0. The findings support the universal sequence in the development of lexical categories.

scholarly journals Growth in achondroplasia, from birth to adulthood, analysed by the JPA-2 model

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 1589-1595
Author(s):  
Mariana del Pino ◽  
Virginia Fano ◽  
Paula Adamo
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Growth Curve ◽  
Growth Velocity ◽  
Adult Height ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Peak Height ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Individual Growth ◽  
Height Velocity ◽  
Peak Height Velocity

AbstractObjectivesIn general population, there are three phases in the human growth curve: infancy, childhood and puberty, with different main factors involved in their regulation and mathematical models to fit them. Achondroplasia children experience a fast decreasing growth during infancy and an “adolescent growth spurt”; however, there are no longitudinal studies that cover the analysis of the whole post-natal growth. Here we analyse the whole growth curve from infancy to adulthood applying the JPA-2 mathematical model.MethodsTwenty-seven patients, 17 girls and 10 boys with achondroplasia, who reached adult size, were included. Height growth data was collected from birth until adulthood. Individual growth curves were estimated by fitting the JPA-2 model to each individual’s height for age data.ResultsHeight growth velocity curves show that after a period of fast decreasing growth velocity since birth, with a mean of 9.7 cm/year at 1 year old, the growth velocity is stable in late preschool years, with a mean of 4.2 cm/year. In boys, age and peak height velocity in puberty were 13.75 years and 5.08 cm/year and reach a mean adult height of 130.52 cm. In girls, the age and peak height velocity in puberty were 11.1 years and 4.32 cm/year and reach a mean adult height of 119.2 cm.ConclusionsThe study of individual growth curves in achondroplasia children by the JPA-2 model shows the three periods, infancy, childhood and puberty, with a similar shape but lesser in magnitude than general population.

Comparing productive vocabulary measures from the CDI and a systematic diary study

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
BYRON F. ROBINSON ◽  
CAROLYN B. MERVIS
Keyword(s):  
Growth Curves ◽  
Diary Study ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Closed Class ◽  
Communicative Development ◽  
Best Fitting ◽  
Fitting Model

Expressive vocabulary data gathered during a systematic diary study of one male child's early language development are compared to data that would have resulted from longitudinal administration of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories spoken vocabulary checklist (CDI). Comparisons are made for (1) the number of words at monthly intervals (9;10.15 to 2;0.15), (2) proportion of words by lexical class (i.e. noun, predicate, closed class, ‘other’), (3) growth curves. The CDI underestimates the number of words in the diary study, with the underestimation increasing as vocabulary size increases. The proportion of diary study words appearing on the CDI differed as a function of lexical class. Finally, despite the differences in vocabulary size, logistic curves proved to be the best fitting model to characterize vocabulary development as measured by both the diary study and the CDI. Implications for the longitudinal use of the CDI are discussed.

PATTERNS OF GROWTH IN HEIGHT AND WEIGHT FROM BIRTH TO EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 904-921
Author(s):  
Robert B. Reed ◽  
Harold C. Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Growth Curves ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Individual Growth ◽  
Growth Spurt ◽  
Adolescent Growth Spurt ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Basic Facts ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Rates Of Growth ◽  
Mature Size

In this report is displayed the range of variation observed in the growth curves of height and weight in a series of 134 children observed from birth to 18 years. For purposes of simplification the individuals have been classified on the basis of their rates of growth during three successive 6-year intervals. Even in terms of this crude classification several basic facts about individual growth patterns of height and weight are apparent. The wide range of differences between individuals applies not only to facts about size at specific ages but also to the pattern of change followed from age period to age period. The rate of growth during early childhood, i.e. before 6 years of age, is associated with, but not specifically predictive of, size at maturity and timing of the adolescent growth spurt. Individuals with rapid growth before 6 years of age tend to have large mature size and early adolescent growth spurt. It will be the objective of future reports from this research project to determine the manner in which the individual differences in growth demonstrated and classified here are related to aspects of physical development, to environmental influences such as dietary intake and to the level of health of the child.

scholarly journals Infant-directed speech from seven to nineteen months has similar acoustic properties but different functions

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 1035-1053 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina KALASHNIKOVA ◽  
Denis BURNHAM
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Vocabulary Development ◽  
Speech Quality ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Communicative Development ◽  
Three Components

AbstractThis longitudinal study assessed three acoustic components of maternal infant-directed speech (IDS) – pitch, affect, and vowel hyperarticulation – in relation to infants’ age and their expressive vocabulary size. These three individual components were measured in IDS addressed to infants at 7, 9, 11, 15, and 19 months (N = 18). All three components were exaggerated at all ages in mothers’ IDS compared to their adult-directed speech. Importantly, the only significant predictor of infants’ expressive vocabulary size at 15 and 19 months was vowel hyperarticulation, but only at 9 months and beyond, not at 7 months, and not pitch or affect at any age. These results set apart vowel hyperarticulation in IDS to infants as the critical IDS component for vocabulary development. Thus IDS, specifically the degree of vowel hyperarticulation therein, is a vehicle by which parents can provide the most optimal speech quality for their infants’ linguistic and communicative development.

Development of a Model To Predict Growth of Clostridium perfringens in Cooked Beef during Cooling

2005 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
SARAH SMITH-SIMPSON ◽  
DONALD W. SCHAFFNER
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Clostridium Perfringens ◽  
Exponential Growth ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Individual Growth ◽  
Performance Standard ◽  
Square Root ◽  
Time Model ◽  
New Model

The objective of this work was to develop a new model to predict the growth of Clostridium perfringens in cooked meat during cooling. All data were collected under changing temperature conditions. Individual growth curves were fit using DMFit. Germination outgrowth and lag (GOL) time was modeled versus temperature at the end of GOL using conservative assumptions. Each growth curve was used to estimate a series of exponential growth rates at a series of temperatures. The square-root model was used to describe the relationship between the square root of the average exponential growth rate and effective temperature. Predictions from the new model were in close agreement with the data used to create the model. When predictions from the model were compared with new observations, fail-dangerous predictions were made a majority of the time. When GOL time was predicted exactly, many fail-dangerous predictions shifted toward the fail-safe direction. Two important facts regarding C. perfringens should impact future modeling research with this organism and may have broader food safety policy implications: (i) the normal variability in the response of the organism from replicate to replicate may be quite large (1 log CFU) and may exceed the current U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service performance standard, and (ii) the accuracy of the GOL time model has a profound influence upon the overall prediction, with small differences in GOL time prediction (~1 h) having a very large effect on the predicted final concentration of C. perfringens.

MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF INDIVIDUAL GROWTH CURVES

1981 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A PREECE ◽  
INGEBORG HEINRICH
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Modelling ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Individual Growth
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