A study examined language socialization in Dominica (West Indies), focusing on the use of a French-based creole, Patwa, in a situation of linguistic and social change. Despite claims that Patwa is integral to Dominican identity, rural caregivers choose to speak English to language-learning children, contributing to rapid attrition of Patwa.…

Studies the difference in language used in children's television shows and in children's books

Examines within an experimental paradigm phonological selection and avoidance patterns of infants and discusses the role of these patterns in early lexical acquisition. (EKN)

Confirmed the hypothesis that a relationship exists between the reading of stories and the spontaneous production of passive verb constructions by children. Concluded that learning strategies which incorporate use of story reading at home and at school provide a powerful tool in shaping language behaviors of children. (PD)

Describes five videotapes drawn from a conference on teacher education. The tapes discuss alternative ways of viewing current problems in reading and language development, the "Breakthrough to Literacy" program developed in Great Britain, language codes, language as a resource, and language as a part of human behavior. (FL)

Acquisition of answering systems based on speaker intention v literal components of questions was investigated in monolingual and bilingual English- and Japanese-speaking children. The results suggested that the English system is acquired earlier than the Japanese system and that the two systems interact in bilingual children. (Author/RD)

Inferences about linguistic competence in children are typically based on spontaneous speech. Children's use of complex object and adverbial noun phrase is seen as a reflection of pragmatic factors. Similar adult patterns indicate children's lack of subject clauses may be due to the nature of spontaneous speech. (CHK)

A study investigated the first words produced by 17 bilingual children (ages 1-4) speaking English and Mandarin Chinese from environments where both languages were spoken. A greater number of nouns than verbs were produced as first words in both English and Mandarin Chinese. Verbs were produced only in Mandarin Chinese. (Contains references.)…

A study tested models concerning syntactic categories in early multiword speech by investigating overlap in contexts in which children (n=11) used determiner types. Results indicate children have little knowledge of relationships between different determiner types, suggesting development of an adultlike syntactic determiner category may be…

Lexical diversity of 53 children with specific language impairment (SLI) (ages 3-7) was compared to 91 typical peers and younger children matched for mean length of utterance in words (MLUw). Older subgroups showed higher lexical diversity. At lower MLUw levels, children with SLI showed higher diversity than the younger children. (Contains…

Describes the transition from single to multiple word utterances in one child. The development illustrates the initial dissociation and later coordination of the temporal chaining of elements and meaning relatedness between elements and also the importance of repetition for the change from single-word utterances to meaning-related, multiword…