Children learn words by listening to caregivers, and the quantity and quality of early language input predict later language development. Recent research suggests that word recognition efficiency may influence the relationship between input and vocabulary growth. We asked whether language input and lexical processing at 28-39 months predicted…

Purpose: This study was designed to examine the relationships among minority dialect use, language ability, and young African American English (AAE)-speaking children's understanding and awareness of Mainstream American English (MAE). Method: Eighty-three 4- to 8-year-old AAE-speaking children participated in 2 experimental tasks. One task…

This study compared picture-naming ability of 66 children (ages 4:3 to 9:7), half with expressive-only language deficits (SLI-exp) and half with receptive and expressive language (SLI-mix) deficits, with 66 children with no language impairment.Specific language impairment (SLI) children made more errors than controls and SLI-exp children made more…

Analysis of characteristics of 53 children with specific language impairment (SLI), ages 4 to 9, suggested that family history is related to pattern of language performance. Children with deficits in only expressive language had a higher proportion of affected family members than did children with both expressive and receptive language deficits.…