The present study examined the relation between language and social ability in a sample of 268 preschoolers aged 18-35 months. Expressive language was assessed with the Italian adaptation of the Language Development Survey (LDS), and Social Competence was assessed with the Questionnaire on Peer Interactions in the Kindergarten (QPI). Results…

Preschoolers' ability to utilize language in spatial problem solving was tested with 64 predominately middle-class children. The number of correct responses was analyzed using an age/sex/medium analysis of variance. It was found that the verbal response mode leads to substantially more correct responses than do pictures and that girls performed…

Pragmatic development requires the ability to use linguistic forms, along with non-verbal cues, to focus an interlocutor's attention on a referent during conversation. We investigate the development of this ability by examining how the use of demonstratives is learned in Turkish, where a three-way demonstrative system ("bu,"…

Examines the use of finiteness markers copula "BE" and auxiliaries "BE" and "DO" in the spontaneous speech of children with specific language impairment. Focus is on whether the categorical distinctions between main verbs and auxiliaries and/or between the auxiliary types influence the relative order of emergence…

Children in grades 1-3 were asked to retell and explain a series of riddles. Ability to recall riddles was not predictive of ability to explain them. Three cognitive factors seemed to determine level of riddle competence. Implications concern the relationship of riddle competence to reading ability and metalinguistic facility. (CHK)

Imitation in the speech of the child serves at least three functions in the development of linguistic competence. Imitation provides auditory feedback for phonological and morpho-syntactic accuracy, produces a model for verification and/or clarification by speakers, and "makes time" for the processing and acquisition of information. Beyond these…

A comprehensive bibliography on linguistic input in the home, clinic, and/or classroom is presented. Three general categories of materials are included: language spoken to normal children, cross-cultural studies, and language spoken to special populations. Linguistic input is a term that refers to the special language register that parents use to…

Previous research has shown how macro-structures can affect children's verbalizations. This study focuses on whether conversational contexts of forms are learned along with syntax, on what makes syntax, and on how to predict speech. Transcripts of videotapes of young children provided a matrix of function or act against actual utterance, wherein…

Three major sections, English language development, language arts curriculum, and historical overviews, compose this bibliography compiled from a review of Dissertation Abstracts International, July 1973-June 1974 and July 1974-June 1975. Its focus is on prekindergarten and primary minority groups and disadvantaged children, and it excludes those…

Twenty-four children aged five and twenty-four children aged six were interviewed individually three times during a calendar year. It was found that not only did the children's language develop over the period, as judged syntactically and lexically, but they also showed an increasingly fluent control over their own style. All the children…

Reports on an action research study to determine the possibilities of extending language development opportunities for 26 male 4 to 5-year-old students. Describes teaching methods used, including story telling, questioning, and drama. Explores issues that emerged during the study and evaluates teacher behavior. (CFR)

The author's purpose in this article is to discuss the aspects of language (especially the development of language in children) to which biological concepts are most appropriately applied. While results of past studies would seem to show that language development is contingent on specific language training, it is important to distinguish between…