Two hypotheses related to the emergence of multiword speech were explored: (1) that multiword speech follows developments in children's ability to map communicative intents to single-word expressions; and (2) that the acquisition of these mapping principles paves the way for the emergence of syntax. The developments consist of an increase in the…

This study explores children's development of dual-level phonological processing posited by generative theory for adult language users. Evidence suggesting 6-year-olds' utilization of morphophonemic segments was obtained by asking children to imitate complex words, omit specified portions, and discuss the meaning of the resulting word-parts. The…

Two speech events, narration and joking conversation, are analyzed from speech samples of Hawaiian 5- to 7-year-olds. An underlying iterative routine was found which allows for both stories and joking to be produced jointly in a contrapuntal style. (Author/RM)

In an experiment in which preschool children were asked questions such as "Which box is taller than it is fat?" the results were interpreted to mean that the linguistic strategy of attending to the first clause is more resistant to change than the preference for simply choosing the largest object. (Author/RM)

This paper focuses on lexical mixing and language switching in a French-English bilingual Canadian child. (CHK)

Spanish-speaking children of Northern New Mexico exhibit varying degrees of interference and integration of English in their speech. (CK)

Two claims about early stages of language development--that of a limitation on length of utterance and that of reduction rules which delete major constituents from simple sentences--are questioned. Supporting arguments are reviewed, and alternative explanations offered. (RM)

Two Japanese universities are undertaking a research program in child language by studying children's verbal and nonverbal development, sponsoring lectures on child language and holding an annual symposium on related subjects. (CK)

A study investigated the effects of introducing a time delay between a "what question" and a verbal model on the spontaneous production of novel object words. Monolingual Spanish-speaking, Mexican children were taught the English names for toys. In the control condition, a "what question" was followed promptly by modeling the…

This paper analyzes a conversational episode from a study of children's play in an educational setting to demonstrate conversational analysis as a research methodology. The analysis reveals the interactional means by which a dramatic play sequence is orchestrated. Children are seen to be sophisticated in their use of talk to create and shape the…

An investigation of how Mandarin-speaking children aged three to eight interpret sentences involving the universal quantifier "mei" ("every") and the quantificational adverbs "dou" ("all") and "quan" ("all") focused on how and when the child acquires adult interpretations of the…

With reference to Fenson's (1984) study of American children's pretend actions and utterances, this study examined the development of pretend actions and utterances in the play of 16 Japanese firstborn children. Subjects, whose cognitive and language development had been followed experimentally since the age of 6 months, were nonretarded…

A line of reasoning used in recent research on language acquisition assumes that a child acquiring the language has only two reliable sources of information available about the target grammar: a set of grammatical principles and the primary data of the language spoken around him. A third kind of evidence, negative evidence, would be helpful but is…

A study of the phonetic changes occurring when a speaker attempts to revise an unclear word for a listener focuses on changes made in the sound segment duration to maximize differences between phonemes. In the study, five-year-olds were asked by adults to revise words differing in voicing of initial and final stop consonants; a control group of…

A study investigated children's hypotheses about the meanings of novel verbs on the child's first exposure to the verb. The study focused on the properties (action, result, or instrument) ascribed to the verbs before any information was given about word meaning. Subjects were 3-year-olds, 5-year-olds, and adults. The stimuli were six sets of…