Presents the results of an empirical study of the interpretation of left branch "combien" (how many) extractions in English-French interlanguage. Results show that knowledge of the interpretation of left-branch "combien" extraction is detectable in English-French interlanguage. (Author/VWL)

This study of rapid picture naming by 20 normally developing children (mean age 11 years) found significant differences between two-and three-dimensional pictures for higher level vocabulary items, but not for lower-level vocabulary items, suggesting that dimensionality may be a critical feature for rapid lexical access for higher-level picture…

This study evaluated recorded performances of 84 children of whom 22 had persistent stuttering. Although initially the persistent stuttering group had significantly poorer phonological skills, assessment after 1 and 2 years found no differences indicating faster phonological improvement for the persistent stuttering group. Results raise questions…

This study compared judgments of idiom familiarity and transparency by 50 11-year-old children and 50 16-year-old adolescents. Although the children had less familiarity and greater difficulty comprehending the idioms than did adolescents, their transparency judgments were similar. For both groups the easiest idioms were also judged as the most…

Investigated the development of syntactic awareness in Cantonese-speaking children. Fifty-six subjects from four age groups were asked to judge the grammaticality of 40 sentences and to correct the grammatically-deviant sentences. There was a significant age effect on subject's performance in both judgment and revision tasks. (Author/VWL)

Discusses first- and second-language word order acquisition. A version of the OV/VO parameter is developed that is not construction specific. It relates various empirical domains, including basic word order, scrambling, exceptional case marking, and the distribution of particles. (Author/JL)

Notes that regardless of the language, children acquire language on the same general schedule and the same cognitive path. Explores the process of child language acquisition, from sounds, through word meanings, to syntax and grammar. (HTH)

Details findings indicating that most early linguistic competence is item based. Maintains that language development proceeds without evidence of system-wide syntactic categories, schemas, or parameters. Suggests that findings are not easily explained by the development of children's skills of linguistic performance, pragmatics, or other external…

Investigated Icelandic and Norwegian children's knowledge of the past tense of verbs. Researchers systematically manipulated verb characteristics (type frequency, token frequency, and phonological coherence). These factors played an important role in the acquisition of the two languages. The predominant source of errors in children shifted during…

This study extended the study of specific language impairments (SLI) to two non-mainstream dialects: a rural version of Southern African American English and a rural version of Southern White English using language samples from 93 4- to 6-year-olds in Louisiana. Findings indicated the surface characteristics of SLI manifested in the two dialects…

Examines the possible and specific relationships between first language (L1) acquisition and second language (L2) acquisition to show that a number of assumptions warrant closer inspection. Explores problems in distinguishing L1 from L2 acquisition from three different perspectives: individual language learner histories, the data, and the…

Three studies examined 2-year-olds' ability to learn novel words when overhearing these words used by others. Found that children ages 2.5 years were equally good at learning novel object labels and action verbs when they were overhearers as when they were directly addressed. For younger 2-year-olds, this was true for object labels, but results…

This article explores how children with deafness learn to read. It discusses findings that indicate children with deafness read by using a code that is not based on sound, the importance of understanding the language that is mapped by the print system, and what types of interventions are needed. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Examination of auditory short-term memory was evaluated with 21 adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) and mental-age-matched and language-production-matched subjects using a digit span task. DS subjects had shorter digit spans than MA controls. Language production level accounted for substantial variance in digit span in individuals with DS.…

Two studies investigated factors affecting children's (n=48) choice of pronouns as referring expressions. Findings indicate the children (ages 2-3) did not use pronouns differentially when the adult model them or they witnessed a target event, but did use pronouns differently depending on the immediately preceding discourse of the experimenter.…