Previous studies using artificial languages suggest that sentence production can be guided by verb-specific as well as verb-general statistics present in the language input. Here we investigated whether the statistical properties of ongoing input in the speakers' native language systematically affected their sentence production. Three experiments…

The use of augmentative and alternative communication systems based on graphic symbols requires children to learn to combine symbols to convey utterances. The current study investigated how children without disabilities aged 4 to 6 years (n = 74) performed on a simple sentence (subject-verb and subject-verb-object) transposition task (i.e., spoken…

This study assessed the effectiveness of 5 hours of training on 3-year-old children's comprehension and production of the passive, negative, possessive, and negative passive syntactic structures. A comprehension test identified 20 children who did not evidence understanding of these structures. Subjects were then randomly assigned to experimental…

This study assessed the effectiveness of five hours of distributed training on three-year-old children's comprehension and production of the passive, negative, possessive and negative passive syntactic structures. A comprehension test identified 20 children who did not evidence understanding of these structures. Subject were randomly assigned to…