Overheard: Know Your Morphemes

ASHA Leader ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 16-17
Author(s):  
Julie Wolter
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Literacy Development ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Online Chat ◽  
Early Language Development

Julie Wolter, an expert in early language development, recently led an online chat about the contribution of morphological awareness to semantic understanding and literacy development. Here's what the Leader overheard ...

scholarly journals Variations in the Home Language Environment and Early Language Development in Rural China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2671
Author(s):  
Yue Ma ◽  
Laura Jonsson ◽  
Tianli Feng ◽  
Tyler Weisberg ◽  
Teresa Shao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Child Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Conversational Turns ◽  
Home Language Environment

The home language environment is critical to early language development and subsequent skills. However, few studies have quantitatively measured the home language environment in low-income, developing settings. This study explores variations in the home language environment and child language skills among households in poor rural villages in northwestern China. Audio recordings were collected for 38 children aged 20–28 months and analyzed using Language Environment Analysis (LENA) software; language skills were measured using the MacArthur–Bates Mandarin Communicative Developmental Inventories expressive vocabulary scale. The results revealed large variability in both child language skills and home language environment measures (adult words, conversational turns, and child vocalizations) with 5- to 6-fold differences between the highest and lowest scores. Despite variation, however, the average number of adult words and conversational turns were lower than found among urban Chinese children. Correlation analyses did not identify significant correlations between demographic characteristics and the home language environment. However, the results do indicate significant correlations between the home language environment and child language skills, with conversational turns showing the strongest correlation. The results point to a need for further research on language engagement and ways to increase parent–child interactions to improve early language development among young children in rural China.

Gestural Communication in Deaf Children: The Effects and Noneffects of Parental Input on Early Language Development

1984 ◽  
Vol 49 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Goldin-Meadow ◽  
Carolyn Mylander ◽  
Jill de Villiers ◽  
Elizabeth Bates ◽  
Virginia Volterra
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Gestural Communication ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Parental Input

scholarly journals Inference and exact numerical representation in early language development

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Barner ◽  
Asaf Bachrach
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Available P ◽  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Numerical Representation ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Do So

How do children as young as 2 years of age know that numerals, like one,have exact interpretations, while quantifiers and words like a do not?Previous studies have argued that only numerals have exact lexicalmeanings. Children could not use scalar implicature to strengthen numeralmeanings, it is argued, since they fail to do so for quantifiers(Papafragou & Musolino, 2003). Against this view, we present evidence thatchildren’s early interpretation of numerals does rely on scalarimplicature, and argue that differences between numerals and quantifiersare due to differences in the availability of the respective scales ofwhich they are members. Evidence from previous studies establishes that (1)children can make scalar inferences when interpreting numerals, (2)children initially assign weak, non-exact interpretations to numerals whenfirst acquiring their meanings, and (3) children can strengthen quantifierinterpretations when scalar alternatives are made explicitly available.

Changes in the Synchrony of Multimodal Communication in Early Language Development

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
pp. 2235-2245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Murillo ◽  
Carlota Ortega ◽  
Alicia Otones ◽  
Irene Rujas ◽  
Marta Casla
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Multimodal Communication ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Lexical Development ◽  
Communicative Behaviors ◽  
Temporal Synchrony ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Vocal Productions ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The aim of this study is to analyze the changes in temporal synchrony between gesture and speech of multimodal communicative behaviors in the transition from babbling to two-word productions. Method Ten Spanish-speaking children were observed at 9, 12, 15, and 18 months of age in a semistructured play situation. We longitudinally analyzed the synchrony between gestures and vocal productions and between their prominent parts. We also explored the relationship between gestural–vocal synchrony and independent measures of language development. Results Results showed that multimodal communicative behaviors tend to be shorter with age, with an increasing overlap of its constituting elements. The same pattern is found when considering the synchrony between the prominent parts. The proportion of overlap between gestural and vocal elements at 15 months of age as well as the proportion of the stroke overlapped with vocalization appear to be related to lexical development 3 months later. Conclusions These results suggest that children produce gestures and vocalizations as coordinated elements of a single communication system before the transition to the two-word stage. This coordination is related to subsequent lexical development in this period. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6912242

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