Although the size of a child's vocabulary associates with language-processing skills, little is understood regarding how this relation emerges. This investigation asks whether and how the structure of vocabulary knowledge affects language processing in English-learning 24-month-old children (N = 32; 18 F, 14 M). Parental vocabulary report was used…

Compares sentence interpretation in American and Italian children between the ages of two and five. Results indicated that Italian children relied primarily on semantic cues, whereas American children relied on word order. (Author/CI)

Analysis indicates that both 5 and 7-year-old children are capable of distinguishing between anomalous and meaningful sentences although 7-year-olds demonstrate greater awareness of selection restriction rules. (Authors)

Results indicate that the semantic constraints revealed by adult associative sentences used here are a functional part of the linguistic knowledge a 5-year-old child brings to the task of memorizing sentences. (Authors)

A sample of 80 first- and second-grade children selected to represent four levels of reading competence were tested in their recognition of semantic, syntactic, and lexical change in sentences previously decoded during prose reading. (JMB)