刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《儿童语言研究》2024年第1-3期

JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE

Volume 51, Issue 1-3, 2024

Jounal of Child Language（SSCI一区，2023 IF:2.2，排名：45/194）2024年第1-3期共刊文33篇。其中，2024年第1期共发文10篇，其中研究性论文9篇，简要研究报告1篇。研究论文主题涉及语言析取、触觉词加工、学龄儿童的句子生成能力和语音工作记忆、儿向语中疑问句和陈述句的韵律差异、因果事件表达等。2024年第2期发文11篇，其中研究性论文9篇，简要研究报告2篇。研究论文主题涉及非宾格动词和非作格动词、句法歧义和抑制控制、语音变异、双语儿童的隐喻优势、元音的范畴性区分等。2024年第3期发文12篇，其中研究性论文10篇，简要研究报告1篇，论文更正1篇。研究论文主题涉及儿童对反语的理解、儿童对间接回答的理解、针对儿童和成人的语音输入差异、冰岛语[+展开声门]特征的习得等。欢迎转发扩散！

往期推荐：

目录

ISSUE 1

ARTICLES

■ Context-Dependent Learning of Linguistic Disjunction, by Masoud JASBI, Akshay JAGGI, Eve V. CLARK, Michael C. FRANK, Pages 1–36.

■ Touching while listening: Does infants’ haptic word processing speed predict vocabulary development?, by Kayla BEAUDIN, Diane POULIN-DUBOIS, Pascal ZESIGER, Pages 37-55.

■ Phonological Working Memory and Sentence Production in School-Age Children with Typical Language, Dyslexia, and Comorbid Dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorder, by  Heidi M. METTLER, Mary ALT, Shelley GRAY, Tiffany P. HOGAN,  Samuel GREEN, Nelson COWAN, Pages 56-90.

■ Parent Responsivity, Language Input, and the Development of Simple Sentences, by Tracy PREZA, Pamela A. HADLEY, Pages 91-117.

■ How is vowel production in Italian affected by geminate consonants and stress patterns?, by Lucia COLOMBO, Michela INFANTI, Joanne ARCIULI, Pages 118-136.

■ Utterance-Initial Prosodic Differences Between Statements and Questions in Infant-Directed Speech, by Susan GEFFEN,  Kelly BURKINSHAW, Angeliki ATHANASOPOULOU, Suzanne CURTIN, Pages 137-167.

■ Object Shape and Depth of Word Representations in Preschoolers, by Nina CAPONE SINGLETON, Jessica SAKS, Pages 168-190.

■ Learning to express causal events in Mandarin Chinese: A multimodal perspective, by Chenxi NIU, Alan CIENKI, Gerardo ORTEGA, Martine COENE, Pages 191-216.

■ Relating the prosody of infant-directed speech to children’s vocabulary size, by Mengru HAN, Nivja H. DE JONG, René KAGER, Pages 217-233.

BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT

■ The emergence of subjects in Lebanese two-year-olds, by Layal ABBOUD, Lina CHOUEIRI, Nour SEIFEDDINE, Laurice TULLER, Pages 234-247.

ISSUE 2

ARTICLES

■ Mandarin-learning 19-month-old toddlers’sensitivity to word order cues that differentiate unaccusative and unergative verbs, by Ziqi WANG, Xiaolu YANG, Rushen SHI, Pages 249-270.

■ Inhibitory Control and Patterns of Errors in Resolution of Syntactically Ambiguous Sentences, by Kaitlyn E. MAY, Jason SCOFIELD, Pages 271-287.

■ Phonological Variation in Child-Directed Speech is Modulated by Lexical Frequency, by Eon-Suk KO, Jongho JUN, Pages 288-313.

■ The effects of overhearing on vocabulary learning in ethnic majority and minority preschool children, by Anneleen BODERÉ, Eline ZENNER, Marieke VANBUEL, Noel CLYCQ, Kris VAN DEN BRANDEN, Pages 314-338.

■ A metaphorical advantage for bilingual children? Understanding figurative meaning by L2 and L3 EFL learners, by Javad ALIPOUR, Maryam RANJBAR, Pages 339-358.

■ Parentese in infancy predicts 5-year language complexity and conversational turns, by Naja FERJAN RAMÍREZ, Yael WEISS, Kaveri K. SHETH, Patricia K. KUHL, Pages 359-384.

■ Developmental differences in reported speech and internal state language in preschoolers’personal narratives, by Megan E. WELLIVER, Alice J. DAVIDSON, Alexandra MCCRARY, Pages 385-410.

■ Use of pointing in parent-child interactions by hearing children of deaf and hearing parents: A follow-up from 1- to 3-years of age, by Laura KANTO, Minna LAAKSO, Kerttu HUTTUNEN, Pages 411-433.

■ Twenty-month-olds categorically discriminate similar sounding vowels regardless of vocabulary level, an event related potentials (ERP) study, by Ao CHEN, Pages 434-453.

BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT

■ Monolingual and bilingual children’s production of complex syntactic structures, by Chloe KORADE, Elena NICOLADIS, Monique CHAREST, Pages 454-469.

■ Exposure to Foreign Languages through Live Interaction Can Facilitate Children’s Acceptance of Multiple Labeling Conventions across Languages, by Hyuna LEE, Hyun-joo SONG, Pages 470-484.

ISSUE 3

ARTICLES

■ “Mom said it in quotation marks!” Irony comprehension and metapragmatic awareness in 8-year-olds, by Sarah GARFINKEL, Meredith L. ROWE, Sandra BOSACKI, Natalia BANASIK-JEMIELNIAK, Pages 485-508.

■ Structure and acoustics of the speech of verbal autistic preschoolers, by Pauline MAES, Marielle WEYLAND, Mikhail KISSINE, Pages 509-525.

■ Comprehension of indirect answers: Developmental trajectory for preschool- and early elementary school-aged children with typical development, by Timothy HUANG, Lizbeth H. FINESTACK, Pages 526-549.

■ Revisiting frequencies of phonological sound classes in speech input: Change over time in child-directed speech, by Sue Ann S. LEE, Jaehoon LEE, Barbara L. DAVIS, Pages 550-572.

■ Acquisition of the feature [+spread glottis] in Icelandic, by Thora MÁSDÓTTIR, Barbara May BERNHARDT, Joseph Paul STEMBERGER, Gunnar Ólafur HANSSON, Pages 573-595. 

■ Cognates are advantaged over non-cognates in early bilingual expressive vocabulary development, by Lori MITCHELL, Rachel Ka-Ying TSUI, Krista BYERS-HEINLEIN, Pages 596-615.

■ The role of imageability in noun and verb acquisition in children with Down syndrome and their peers with typical development, by Miguel GALEOTE, Natalia ARIAS-TREJO, Armando Q. ANGULO-CHAVIRA, Elena CHECA, Pages 616-636.

■ The effect of masks on infants’ ability to fast-map and generalize new words, by Siying LIU, Xun LI, Renji SUN, Pages 637-655.

■ Preschool children’s discourse competence in different genres and how it relates to iconic gestures, by Friederike KERN, Ulrich BODEN, Anne NEMETH, Sofia KOUTALIDIS, Olga ABRAMOV, Stefan KOPP, Katharina J. ROHLFING, Pages 656-680.

■ An observational study of parental language during play and mealtime in toddlers at variable likelihood for autism, by Kelsey THOMPSON, Elizabeth CHOI, Jonet ARTIS, Michaela DUBAY, Grace T. BARANEK, Linda R. WATSON, Pages 681-709.

Brief Research Report

■ Fostering retention of word learning: The number of training sessions children retrieve words positively relates to post-training retention, by Katherine R. GORDON, Stephanie L. LOWRY, Pages 710-719.

摘要

Context-Dependent Learning of Linguistic Disjunction

Masoud JASBI, University of California, Davis

Akshay JAGGI, Harvard Medical School

Eve V. CLARK, Stanford University

Michael C. FRANK, Stanford University

Abstract What are the constraints, cues, and mechanisms that help learners create successful word-meaning mappings? This study takes up linguistic disjunction and looks at cues and mechanisms that can help children learn the meaning of or. We first used a large corpus of parent-child interactions to collect statistics on or uses. Children started producing or between 18-30 months and by 42 months, their rate of production reached a plateau. Second, we annotated for the interpretation of disjunction in child-directed speech. Parents used or mostly as exclusive disjunction, typically accompanied by rise-fall intonation and logically inconsistent disjuncts. But when these two cues were absent, disjunction was generally not exclusive. Our computational modeling suggests that an ideal learner could successfully interpret an English disjunction (as exclusive or not) by mapping forms to meanings after partitioning the input according to the intonational and logical cues available in child-directed speech.

Key words Disjunction Logical Words, Language Acquisition, Language Development

Touching while listening: Does infants’ haptic word processing speed predict vocabulary development?

Kayla BEAUDIN, Concordia University, Canada

Diane POULIN-DUBOIS, Concordia University, Canada

Pascal ZESIGER, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Abstract The present study examined the links between haptic word processing speed, vocabulary, and inhibitory control among bilingual children. Three main hypotheses were tested: faster haptic processing speed, measured by the Computerized Comprehension Task at age 1;11, would be associated with larger concurrent vocabulary and greater longitudinal vocabulary growth. Second, early vocabulary size would be associated with greater vocabulary growth at 3;0 and 5;0. Finally, faster haptic processing speed would be associated with greater concurrent inhibitory control, as measured by the Shape Stroop Task. The results revealed that haptic processing speed was associated with concurrent vocabulary, but not predictive of later language skills. Also, early decontextualized vocabulary was predictive of vocabulary at 3;0. Finally, haptic processing speed measured in the non-dominant language was associated with inhibitory control. These results provide insight on the mechanisms of lexical retrieval in young bilinguals and expand previous research on haptic word processing and vocabulary development.

Key words bilingualism, language development, word processing

Phonological Working Memory and Sentence Production in School-Age Children with Typical Language, Dyslexia, and Comorbid Dyslexia and Developmental Language Disorder

Heidi M. METTLER, University of Arizona, USA

Mary ALT, University of Arizona, USA

Shelley GRAY, Arizona State University, USA

Tiffany P. HOGAN, MGH Institute of Health Professions, USA

Samuel GREEN, Arizona State University, USA

Nelson COWAN, University of Missouri-Columbia, USA

Abstract  

Purpose

Little is known about the relationship between sentence production and phonological working memory in school-age children. To fill this gap, we examined how strongly these constructs correlate. We also compared diagnostic groups’ working memory abilities to see if differences co-occurred with qualitative differences in their sentences.

Method

We conducted Bayesian analyses on data from seven- to nine-year-old children (n = 165 typical language, n = 81 dyslexia-only, n = 43 comorbid dyslexia and developmental language disorder). We correlated sentence production and working memory scores and conducted t tests between groups’ working memory scores and sentence length, lexical diversity, and complexity.

Results

Correlations were positive but weak. The dyslexic and typical groups had dissimilar working memory and comparable sentence quality. The dyslexic and comorbid groups had comparable working memory but dissimilar sentence quality.

Conclusion

Contrary to literature-based predictions, phonological working memory and sentence production are weakly related in school-age children.

Key words sentence production, phonological working memory, school-age

Parent Responsivity, Language Input, and the Development of Simple Sentences

Tracy PREZA, Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, USA

Pamela A. HADLEY, Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, USA

Abstract This study explored responsive and linguistic parent input features during parent-child interactions and investigated how four input categories related to children’s production of diverse, simple sentences. Of primary interest was parent use of responsive, simple declarative input sentences. Responsive and linguistic features of parent input to 20 typically developing toddlers at 1;9 were coded during play in a laboratory playroom, then classified into four input categories: responsive, declarative, responsive declarative, and neither responsive nor simple declarative. The percentage of each input category was related to child sentence diversity at 2;6 using Spearman correlations. Parent use of responsive declarative and declarative utterances were both rare. Responsive input was positively correlated with child sentence diversity, and the neither category was negatively correlated with child sentence diversity. The findings provide new support for the importance of balanced conversational turns. Implications for defining both how input is delivered and its linguistic content are discussed.

Key words Parent-toddler interaction, input quality, responsivity, syntax

How is vowel production in Italian affected by geminate consonants and stress patterns?

Lucia COLOMBO, Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Italy

Michela INFANTI, Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Italy

Joanne ARCIULI, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia

Abstract Italian vowels have a shorter duration before a geminate than before a singleton consonant, but a longer duration in syllables carrying stress. We asked whether children can produce the differentiation in vowel duration in singleton / geminate contexts reported for adults and whether their production changes depending on position of primary stress. Italian children (three-to-six-year-olds) and adults performed a nonword repetition. Each nonword appeared in four contexts, with the stressed / unstressed vowel preceding / following the singleton/geminate: /paˈpaso/, /papˈpaso/, ˈpapaso/, /ˈpappaso/. Acoustic analyses on the duration of the vowel preceding (V1) and following (V2) the medial consonant showed a type of consonant by age group interaction: the difference in vowel duration between children and adults was greater for geminate than singleton contexts, and was greater when the vowel carried stress. When V1 carried stress, its duration was shorter in the geminate than in the singleton in adults and older children, not in younger children.

Key words language acquisition, geminates, acoustic characteristics of vowel production

Utterance-Initial Prosodic Differences Between Statements and Questions in Infant-Directed Speech

Susan GEFFEN, Department of Psychology, Occidental College, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Canada

Kelly BURKINSHAW, School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures, University of Calgary, Canada & Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Canada

Angeliki ATHANASOPOULOU, School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures, University of Calgary, Canada

Suzanne CURTIN, Department of Child and Youth Studies, Brock University, Canada

Abstract Cross-linguistically, statements and questions broadly differ in syntactic organization. To learn the syntactic properties of each sentence type, learners might first rely on non-syntactic information. This paper analyzed prosodic differences between infant-directed wh-questions and statements to determine what kinds of cues might be available. We predicted there would be a significant difference depending on the first words that appear in wh-questions (e.g., two closed-class words; meaning words from a category that rarely changes) compared to the variety of first words found in statements. We measured F0, duration, and intensity of the first two words in statements and wh-questions in naturalistic speech from 13 mother-child dyads in the Brent corpus of the CHILDES database. Results found larger differences between sentence-types when the second word was an open-class not a closed-class word, suggesting a relationship between prosodic and syntactic information in an utterance-initial position that infants may use to make sentence-type distinctions.

Key words prosody, statements, wh-questions, input, infant-directed speech

Object Shape and Depth of Word Representations in Preschoolers

Nina CAPONE SINGLETON, Department of Speech-Language Pathology, Seton Hall University, Nutley, USA & Department of Pediatrics, Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine, USA.

Jessica SAKS, New York City Department of Education, New York State, USA.

Abstract This study examined the effect of a shape cue (i.e., co-speech gesture) on word depth. We taught 23 preschoolers (M = 3;5 years, SD = 5.82) novel objects with either shape (SHP) or indicator (IND) gestures. SHP gestures mimicked object form, but IND gestures were not semantically related to the object (e.g., an upward-facing palm, extended toward the object). Each object had a unique IND or SHP gesture. Outcome measures reflected richer semantic and phonological learning in the SHP than in the IND condition. In the SHP condition, preschoolers (a) expressed more semantic knowledge, (b) said more sounds in names, and (c) generalized more names to untaught objects. There were also fewer disruptions to prime picture names in the SHP condition; we discuss the benefit of a co-speech shape gesture to capitalize on well-established statistical word learning patterns.

Key words shape bias, semantics, phonology, word learning, gesture

Learning to express causal events in Mandarin Chinese: A multimodal perspective

Chenxi NIU, Department of Language, Literature and Communication, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

Alan CIENKI, Department of Language, Literature and Communication, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

Gerardo ORTEGA, Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Birmingham, UK

Martine COENE, Department of Language, Literature and Communication, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract Previous research has shown language-specific features play a guiding role in how children develop expression of events with speech and gestures. This study adopts a multimodal approach and examines Mandarin Chinese, a language that features context use and verb serializations. Forty children (four-to-seven years old) and ten adults were asked to describe fourteen video stimuli depicting different types of causal events involving location/state changes. Participants’ speech was segmented into clauses and co-occurring gestures were analyzed in relation to causation. The results show that the older the children, the greater the use of contextual clauses which contribute meaning to event descriptions. It is not until the age of six that children used adult-like structures – namely, using single gestures representing causing actions and aligning them with verb serializations in single clauses. We discuss the implications of these findings for the guiding role of language specificity in multimodal language development.

Key words language development, gesture, causal event, Mandarin Chinese, typological features

Relating the prosody of infant-directed speech to children’s vocabulary size

Mengru HAN, Department of Chinese Language and Literature, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, 200241, Shanghai, China & Utrecht Institute of Linguistics (OTS), Utrecht University, Trans 10, 3512 JK Utrecht, the Netherlands & Language, Cognition, and Evolution Lab, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, 200241, Shanghai, China.

Nivja H. DE JONG, Leiden University Center for Linguistics (LUCL), Leiden University, Van Wijkplaats 4, 2311 BX Leiden, the Netherlands & Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching (ICLON), Leiden University, Kolffpad 1, 2333 BN Leiden, the Netherlands.

René KAGER, Utrecht Institute of Linguistics (OTS), Utrecht University, Trans 10, 3512 JK Utrecht, the Netherlands

Abstract This study examines correlations between the prosody of infant-directed speech (IDS) and children’s vocabulary size. We collected longitudinal speech data and vocabulary information from Dutch mother-child dyads with children aged 18 (N = 49) and 24 (N = 27) months old. We took speech context into consideration and distinguished between prosody when mothers introduce familiar vs. unfamiliar words to their children. The results show that IDS mean pitch predicts children’s vocabulary growth between 18 and 24 months. In addition, the degree of prosodic modification when mothers introduce unfamiliar words to their children correlates with children’s vocabulary growth during this period. These findings suggest that the prosody of IDS, especially in word-learning contexts, may serve linguistic purposes.

Key words Infant-directed speech, prosody, lexical development

The emergence of subjects in Lebanese two-year-olds

Lina CHOUEIRI, American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

Nour SEIFEDDINE, Private clinic, Lebanon.

Laurice TULLER, UMR 1253, Imagery and Brain (iBrain), Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours, France.

Abstract In Lebanese Arabic, lexical subjects may occur before or after verbs, but only before non-verbal predicates. Analysis of spontaneous language samples from 19 two-year-old children shows that postverbal (VS) and preverbal (SV) subjects emerge simultaneously. The youngest children displayed no VS-SV difference in frequency. A slight preference for SV is observed in older children. No preference for SV subjects was found in the speech of the mothers of the younger or older children. Lexical subjects systematically appeared before non-verbal predicates. We interpret these results as evidence for early knowledge of syntactic movement, consistent with Wexler’s (1998) Very Early Parameter Setting.

Key words language acquisition, subjects with verbal/non-verbal predicates, Lebanese Arabic

Mandarin-learning 19-month-old toddlers’ sensitivity to word order cues that differentiate unaccusative and unergative verbs

Ziqi WANG, Tsinghua University, China

Xiaolu YANG, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

Rushen SHI, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

Abstract Languages employ different means to manifest the unaccusative-unergative distinction. In Mandarin Chinese, unaccusative verbs are allowed in the inversion construction “V-le NP”, while unergative verbs are not. This grammaticality contrast brings a presence/absence contrast between the two verb classes in the inversion construction in the input. Using an eye fixation task, we investigated whether Mandarin-learning 19-month-olds were sensitive to this specific input frequency contrast. We found that infants distinguished the grammatical versus ungrammatical uses of the two verb classes in the inversion construction “V-le NP” (Experiment 1). When the verb classes were in the “NP V-le” order (Experiment 2) (i.e., the same level of grammaticality), infants showed no evidence of a looking difference. These responses indicate toddlers’ sensitivity to the distribution of the two verb classes in the inversion construction. This distributional information is likely to be one of the potential cues that facilitate their acquisition of the unaccusative-unergative distinction.

Key words early language acquisition, unaccusativity, word order, input frequency, Mandarin Chinese

Inhibitory Control and Patterns of Errors in Resolution of Syntactically Ambiguous Sentences

Kaitlyn E. MAY, Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling, The University of Alabama, USA.

Jason SCOFIELD, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The University of Alabama, USA.

Abstract Sentences that have more than one possible meaning are said to be syntactically ambiguous (SA). Because the correct interpretation of these sentences can be unclear, resolving SA sentences can be cognitively demanding for children, particularly with regards to inhibitory control (IC). In this study we provide three lines of evidence supporting the importance of IC in SA resolution. First, we show that children with higher IC resolve more SA sentences correctly. Second, we show that SA resolution is worse on tasks that place higher demands on IC, even for children with high IC. Third, we show that children with higher IC make different types of SA errors than children with lower IC. This study expands understanding of the cognitive skills underlying language and suggests a need to consider task demands on IC when developing educational curriculums.

Key words syntactic ambiguity, inhibitory control, executive functions, sentence processing, child development

Phonological Variation in Child-Directed Speech is Modulated by Lexical Frequency

Eon-Suk KO, Department of English Language and Literature, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea.

Jongho JUN, Department of Linguistics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract We investigate whether child-directed speech (CDS) contains a higher proportion of canonical pronunciations compared to adult-directed speech (ADS), focusing on Korean noun stem-final obstruent variation. In a word-teaching task, we observed that mothers use a higher rate of canonical pronunciation when addressing infants than when addressing adults. In a follow-up experiment, adults exhibited a higher rate of canonical pronunciation for high- than low-frequency words. Additional analyses conducted with only the high-frequency monosyllabic words from the two experiments found no evidence for simplified phonology in CDS when lexical frequency was controlled for. Our findings suggest that the higher rate of canonical forms in CDS, with respect to Korean morphophonological rules, is mediated by the frequency of word usage. Thus, the didactic function of CDS phonology appears to be a byproduct of mothers using familiar words with children. These results highlight the importance of considering word usage in investigating the nature of CDS.

The effects of overhearing on vocabulary learning in ethnic majority and minority preschool children

Anneleen BODERÉ, KU Leuven

Eline ZENNER, KU Leuven

Marieke VANBUEL, University of Gent

Noel CLYCQ, University of Antwerp

Kris VAN DEN BRANDEN, KU Leuven

Abstract Research shows that infants and preschoolers can learn novel words equally well through addressed speech as through overhearing two adults. However, most of this research draws from samples of ethnic majority children. The current study compares word learning in preschoolers (M age = 5;6) with an ethnic minority and an ethnic majority background (N = 132). An experimenter of the majority group (representative for most teachers in Flemish education) told a story in three different interaction situations: Addressed Speech, Overhearing Classroom and Overhearing Two Adults. Results show that children of both ethnic groups learn novel words in Addressed Speech and in Overhearing Classroom equally well. However, minority children learned significantly fewer words in Overhearing Two Adults. This study suggests important differences in how ethnic majority and minority children learn through indirect speech in educational (monolingual) settings. In addition, the study scrutinizes the potential role of social identification in overhearing mechanisms.

Key words word learning, overhearing, direct and indirect speech

A metaphorical advantage for bilingual children? Understanding figurative meaning by L2 and L3 EFL learners

Javad ALIPOUR, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran

Maryam RANJBAR, University of Isfahan, Iran

Abstract This study compared school-aged monolingual and bilingual English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners in terms of understanding metaphors on recall, multiple-choice, and reasoning tasks. It also examined the relationship between cognitive capacity and understanding metaphors on different measures. A hundred and thirty Persian–Turkish early bilinguals and 122 monolingual Persian-speaking EFL learners took three different tests of metaphor comprehension and the Figural Intersections Test, a test of cognitive capacity. Bilinguals outperformed monolinguals in terms of cognitive capacity and understanding metaphors on two of the tasks, though with a small effect size. Furthermore, there was a significant positive relationship between cognitive capacity and the scores on the multiple-choice and reasoning tests, but not the recall test. Results suggest that bilingual L3 learners have an edge in understanding metaphors, reflecting a cognitive advantage.

Key words bilingualism, metaphors, figurative meanings, bilingual advantage (BA)

Parentese in infancy predicts 5-year language complexity and conversational turns

Naja FERJAN RAMÍREZ, Department of Linguistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA & Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Yael WEISS, Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Kaveri K. SHETH, Department of Linguistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Patricia K. KUHL, Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA & Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Abstract Parental input is considered a key predictor of language achievement during the first years of life, yet relatively few studies have assessed its effects on longer-term outcomes. We assess the effects of parental quantity of speech, use of parentese (the acoustically exaggerated, clear, and higher-pitched speech), and turn-taking in infancy, on child language at 5 years. Using a longitudinal dataset of daylong LENA recordings collected with the same group of English-speaking infants (N=44) at 6, 10, 14, 18, 24 months and then again at 5 years, we demonstrate that parents’ consistent (defined as stable and high) use of parentese in infancy was a potent predictor of lexical diversity, mean length of utterance, and frequency of conversational turn-taking between children and adults at Kindergarten entry. Together, these findings highlight the potential importance of a high-quality language learning environment in infancy for success at the start of formal schooling.

Key words language input, parentese, conversational turns, LENA, language development predictors

Developmental differences in reported speech and internal state language in preschoolers’ personal narratives

Megan E. WELLIVER, College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

Alice J. DAVIDSON, Psychology, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, USA

Alexandra MCCRARY, Psychology, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, USA

Abstract The present study explored developmental differences in preschoolers’ use of reported speech and internal state language in personal narratives. Three-, four-, and five-year-olds attending a laboratory preschool shared 204 stories about ‘a time when you were happy/sad’. Stories were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded for reported speech (direct, indirect, narrativized) and internal state language (cognitive states, total emotion terms, unique emotion terms). Personal narratives told by five-year-olds included more cognitive states and more narrativized speech than those told by three- and four-year-olds, even when accounting for children’s vocabulary skills, and that reported speech (narrativized, direct) were positively correlated with cognitive state talk. These findings highlight distinct shifts in children’s use of cognitive state talk and reported speech in personal narratives told at age five. Associations between reported speech and internal state language are both informed by and support Vygotsky’s (1978) fundamental claim that psychological processes are socially mediated by language.

Key words Early childhood, Personal narratives, Reported speech, Internal state language, Cognitive state talk

Use of pointing in parent-child interactions by hearing children of deaf and hearing parents: A follow-up from 1- to 3-years of age

Laura KANTO, Department of Language and Communication studies, University of Jyväskylä, Niilo Mäki Institute, Jyväskylä

Minna LAAKSO, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki

Kerttu HUTTUNEN, Faculty of Humanities / Research Unit of Logopedics, University of Oulu, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University, Hospital of Oulu, Medical Research Center Oulu

Abstract Pointing plays a significant role in communication and language development. However, in spoken languages pointing has been viewed as a non-verbal gesture, whereas in sign languages, pointing is regarded to represent a linguistic unit of language. This study compared the use of pointing between seven bilingual hearing children of deaf parents (Kids of Deaf Adults [KODAs]) interacting with their deaf parents and five hearing children interacting with their hearing parents. Data were collected in 6-month intervals from the age of 1;0 to 3;0. Pointing frequency among the deaf parents and KODAs was significantly higher than among the hearing parents and their children. In signing dyads pointing frequency remained stable, whereas in spoken dyads it decreased during the follow-up. These findings suggested that pointing is a fundamental element of parent-child interaction, regardless of the language, but is guided by the modality, gestural and linguistic features of the language in question.

Key words gesture, nonverbal communication, CODA, KODA, language acquisition

Twenty-month-olds categorically discriminate similar sounding vowels regardless of vocabulary level, an event related potentials (ERP) study

Ao CHEN, School of Psychology, Beijing Language and Culture University, China & Institute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

Abstract The current study investigated whether vocabulary relates to phonetic categorization at neural level in early childhood. Electoencephalogram (EEG) responses were collected from 53 Dutch 20-month-old children in a passive oddball paradigm, in which they were presented with two nonwords “giep” [ɣip] and “gip” [ɣɪp] that were contrasted solely by the vowel. In the multiple-speaker condition, both nonwords were produced by twelve different speakers; while, in the single-speaker condition, one single token of each word was used as stimuli. Infant positive mismatch responses (p-MMR) were elicited in both conditions without significant amplitude differences. When the infants were median split based on vocabulary level, the large and small vocabulary groups showed comparable p-MMR amplitudes yet different scalp distribution in both conditions. These results suggest successful phonetic categorization of native similar sounding vowels at 20 months, and a close relationship between speech categorization and vocabulary development.

Key words Phonetic categorization, vocabulary, mismatch response

Monolingual and bilingual children’s production of complex syntactic structures

Chloe KORADE, University of Alberta, Canada

Elena NICOLADIS, University of Alberta, Canada

Monique CHAREST, University of Alberta, Canada

Abstract Typically-developing bilingual children often score lower than monolingual peers of the same age on standardized measures; however, research has shown that when assessed in more natural discourse contexts, bilinguals can perform similar to age-matched monolinguals in some language subdomains. This study investigated complex syntax production in simultaneous French–English bilingual children and monolingual age-matched peers, using structured and spontaneous measures. Surprisingly, the bilinguals scored higher than the monolinguals on the structured task. There was no difference between groups on the spontaneous measure; however, predictors of complex syntax production differed by language groups and by tasks. Contrary to other language subdomains showing bilingual English development as protracted relative to monolingual peers, these results point to a relative strength of complex syntax acquisition among simultaneous bilingual children. Differences in exposure relative to monolingual children may be less pronounced in syntax, in part because bilinguals can benefit from syntactic knowledge in their other language.

Key words Bilingual language development, complex syntax, language assessment

Exposure to Foreign Languages through Live Interaction Can Facilitate Children’s Acceptance of Multiple Labeling Conventions across Languages

Hyuna LEE, Graduate School of Education, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea

Hyun-joo SONG, Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea

Abstract The current research examined whether children’s expectations about labeling conventions can be influenced by limited exposure to a foreign language. Three- to four-year-old Korean children were presented with two speakers who each assigned a novel label either in Korean or Spanish to a novel object. Children were asked whether both labels were acceptable for the object. Children who had more exposure to a foreign language through live social interaction, but not through media, were more likely to accept both Korean and Spanish labels. These findings indicate the influence of social interaction in foreign language exposure on children’s understanding of different labeling conventions.

Key words foreign language exposure, word learning, conventionality

“Mom said it in quotation marks!” Irony comprehension and metapragmatic awareness in 8-year-olds

Sarah GARFINKEL, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA

Meredith L. ROWE, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA

Sandra BOSACKI, Brock University, Canada

Natalia BANASIK-JEMIELNIAK, The Maria Grzegorzewska University, Poland

Abstract This study investigated links between the development of children’s understanding of ironic comments and their metapragmatic knowledge. Forty-six 8-year-olds completed the short version of the Irony Comprehension Task, during which they were presented with ironic comments in three stories and asked to provide reasons for why the speaker in a story uttered an ironic comment. We coded their responses and compared the results to similar data collected previously with 5-year-olds. Results showed that compared to younger children, 8-year-olds frequently refer to interlocutors’ emotions, intentions, and to metapragmatics. These results support the view that comprehension of verbal irony is an emerging skill in children.

Key words irony comprehension, verbal irony, pragmatic skills

Structure and acoustics of the speech of verbal autistic preschoolers

Pauline MAES, ACTE, LaDisco and ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

Marielle WEYLAND, ACTE, LaDisco and ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

Mikhail KISSINE, ACTE, LaDisco and ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

Abstract In this study, we report an extensive investigation of the structural language and acoustical specificities of the spontaneous speech of ten three- to five-year-old verbal autistic children. The autistic children were compared to a group of ten typically developing children matched pairwise on chronological age, nonverbal IQ and socioeconomic status, and groupwise on verbal IQ and gender on various measures of structural language (phonetic inventory, lexical diversity and morpho-syntactic complexity) and a series of acoustical measures of speech (mean and range fundamental frequency, a formant dispersion index, syllable duration, jitter and shimmer). Results showed that, overall, the structure and acoustics of the verbal autistic children’s speech were highly similar to those of the TD children. Few remaining atypicalities in the speech of autistic children lay in a restricted use of different vocabulary items, a somewhat diminished morpho-syntactic complexity, and a slightly exaggerated syllable duration.

Key words autism, structural language, acoustics, naturalistic speech sample

Comprehension of indirect answers: Developmental trajectory for preschool- and early elementary school-aged children with typical development

Timothy HUANG, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, USA

Lizbeth H. FINESTACK, Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA

Abstract Indirect answers are a common type of non-literal language that do not provide an explicit “yes” or “no” to a question (e.g., “I have to work late” indirectly answered “Are you going to the party?” with a negative response). In the current study, we examined the developmental trajectory of comprehension of indirect answers among 5- to 10-year-old children with typical development. Forty-eight children, 23 boys and 25 girls, between the ages of 5 years; 0 months and 10 years; 11 months (M = 8;2, SD = 19.77 months) completed an experimental task to judge whether a verbally presented indirect answer meant yes or no (Comprehension Task) and then explain their choice (Explanation Task). Responses were scored for accuracy and coded for error analysis. On the Comprehension Task, the 5- to 8-year-olds performed with approximately 85% accuracy, while the 9- and 10-year-olds achieved 95% accuracy. On the Explanation Task, the cross-sectional trajectory revealed three stages: the 5- and 6-year-olds adequately explained indirect answers 32% of the time, the 7- and 8-year-olds performed significantly higher at 55%, and the 9- and 10-year-olds made significant gains than the younger children at 66%. Error analysis revealed that when children fail to interpret speaker intentions appropriately, they repeat the speaker’s utterance or provide an insufficient explanation 80% of the time. Other responses, such as those irrelevant to the context, indicating “I don’t know” or no response, or that were made-up interpretations each accounted for 2%-10% of total inadequate explanations. Study findings indicate discrepancies between task performances and offer two separate sets of baseline data for future comparisons that investigate comprehension or explanation of indirect answers by children with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and by those with varying cognitive and language profiles.

Key words indirect answers, relevance implicature, developmental trajectory

Revisiting frequencies of phonological sound classes in speech input: Change over time in child-directed speech

Sue Ann S. LEE, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, USA

Jaehoon LEE, Texas Tech University, USA

Barbara L. DAVIS, University of Texas at Austin, USA

Abstract The purpose of the current study was to revisit a controversial topic: whether frequencies of phonological consonant and vowel classes differ in speech directed to children and to adults. In addition, the current study investigated whether the frequency of phonological consonant and vowel classes changes with children’s increasing chronological and/or developmental age. This study analyzed speech input from 44 adults to four different age groups of listeners (i.e., three groups of children at 6, 18, and 36 months of age and one group of adult listeners) in terms of frequency of occurrence of consonant and vowel classes. Results revealed that consonant stop, nasal, fricative and glide manner classes as well as all four consonant place classes were significantly different in speech directed to the four different age groups. A perspective is discussed to better understand the nature of frequency input of phonological sound classes.

Key words child-directed speech, frequency of phonological sound classes, frequency of speech input

Acquisition of the feature [+spread glottis] in Icelandic

Thora MÁSDÓTTIR, University of Iceland, Faculty of Medicine, Division of Speech Pathology, Iceland

Barbara May BERNHARDT, University of British Columbia, School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, Canada

Joseph Paul STEMBERGER, University of British Columbia, Department of Linguistics, Canada

Gunnar Ólafur HANSSON, University of British Columbia, Department of Linguistics, Canada

Abstract The feature [+spread glottis] ([+s.g.]) denotes that a speech sound is produced with a wide glottal aperture with audible voiceless airflow. Icelandic is unusual in the degree to which [+spread glottis] is involved in the phonology: in /h/, pre-aspirated and post-aspirated stops, voiceless fricatives and voiceless sonorants. The ubiquitousness of the feature could potentially affect the rate and process of its acquisition. This paper investigates the development of [+s.g.] in Icelandic, both in general and in a range of contexts, in a cross-sectional study of 433 typically developing Icelandic-speaking children aged two to seven years. As a feature, [+s.g.] is acquired early in Icelandic, although specific sound classes lag behind due to other output constraints. Children reach mastery of [+s.g.] by age three except in word-initial post-aspirated stops and voiceless nasals. Findings are interpreted in light of the literature on the feature and its development.

Key words phonological development, phonological acquisition, phonological disorders, speech disorder, spread glottis

Cognates are advantaged over non-cognates in early bilingual expressive vocabulary development

Lori MITCHELL, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada

Rachel Ka-Ying TSUI, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada

Krista BYERS-HEINLEIN, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada

Abstract Bilinguals need to learn two words for most concepts. These words are called translation equivalents, and those that also sound similar (e.g., banana–banane) are called cognates. Research has consistently shown that children and adults process and name cognates more easily than non-cognates. The present study explored if there is such an advantage for cognate production in bilinguals’ early vocabulary development. Longitudinal expressive vocabulary data were collected from 47 English–French bilinguals starting at 16–20 months up to 27 months (a total of 219 monthly administrations in both English and French). Children produced a greater proportion of cognates than non-cognates, and the interval between producing a word and its translation equivalent was about 10–15 days shorter for cognates than for non-cognates. The findings suggest that cognate learning is facilitated in early bilingual vocabulary development, such that phonological overlap supports bilinguals in learning phonologically similar words across their two languages.

Key words bilingual infants, cognates, translation equivalents, phonological similarity, expressive vocabulary

The role of imageability in noun and verb acquisition in children with Down syndrome and their peers with typical development

Miguel GALEOTE, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Malaga, Málaga (Spain)

Natalia ARIAS-TREJO, Psycholinguistics Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico)

Armando Q. ANGULO-CHAVIRA, Psycholinguistics Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico)

Elena CHECA, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Malaga, Málaga (Spain)

Abstract Our main objective was to analyze the role of imageability in relation to the age of acquisition (AoA) of nouns and verbs in Spanish-speaking children with Down syndrome (DS) and their peers with typical development (TD). The AoA of nouns and verbs was determined using the MacArthur-Bates CDIs adapted to the profile of children with DS. The AoA was analyzed using a linear mixed-effect model, including factors of imageability, group, and word class, and controlling for word frequency and word length. This analysis showed that high imaginable and short words were acquired early. Children with DS acquired the words later than TD peers. An interaction between imageability and group indicated that the effect of imageability was greater in the DS group. We discuss this effect considering DS children’s phonological memory difficulties. The overall results confirm the role that imageability and word length play in lexical acquisition, an effect that goes beyond word class.

Key words Down syndrome, noun and verb acquisition, imageability, word length

The effect of masks on infants’ ability to fast-map and generalize new words

Siying LIU, Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China

Xun LI, Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China

Renji SUN, East China University of Political Science and Law, China

Abstract Young children today are exposed to masks on a regular basis. However, there is limited empirical evidence on how masks may affect word learning. The study explored the effect of masks on infants’ abilities to fast-map and generalize new words. Seventy-two Chinese infants (43 males, Mage = 18.26 months) were taught two novel word-object pairs by a speaker with or without a mask. They then heard the words and had to visually identify the correct objects and also generalize words to a different speaker and objects from the same category. Eye-tracking results indicate that infants looked longer at the target regardless of whether a speaker wore a mask. They also looked longer at the speaker’s eyes than at the mouth only when words were taught through a mask. Thus, fast-mapping and generalization occur in both masked and not masked conditions as infants can flexibly access different visual cues during word-learning.

Key words infants, word learning, fast-mapping, generalization, visual cues, masks

Preschool children’s discourse competence in different genres and how it relates to iconic gestures

Friederike KERN, Bielefeld University, Germany

Ulrich BODEN, Paderborn University, Germany

Anne NEMETH, Bielefeld University, Germany

Sofia KOUTALIDIS, Bielefeld University, Germany

Olga ABRAMOV, Bielefeld University, Germany

Stefan KOPP, Bielefeld University, Germany

Katharina J. ROHLFING, Paderborn University, Germany

Abstract Based on the linguistic analysis of game explanations and retellings, the paper’s goal is to investigate the relation of preschool children’s situated discourse competence and iconic gestures in different communicative genres, focussing on reinforcing and supplementary speech-gesture-combinations. To this end, a method was developed to evaluate discourse competence as a context-sensitive and interactively embedded phenomenon. The so-called GLOBE-model was adapted to assess discourse competence in relation to interactive scaffolding. The findings show clear links between the children’s competence and their parents’ scaffolding. We suggest this to be evidence of a fine-tuned interactive support system. The results also indicate strong relations between higher discourse competence and increased frequency of iconic gestures. This applies in particular to reinforcing gestures. The results are interpreted as a confirmation that the speech-gesture system undergoes systematic changes during early childhood, and that gesturing becomes more iconic – and thus more communicative – when discourse competence is growing.

Key words Discourse competence, iconic gestures, multimodal development

An observational study of parental language during play and mealtime in toddlers at variable likelihood for autism

Kelsey THOMPSON, Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill & Program for Early Autism Research, Leadership, and Service (PEARLS), University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Elizabeth CHOI, Mrs. T. H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California & Program for Early Autism Research, Leadership, and Service (PEARLS), University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Jonet ARTIS, University of Maryland College Park & Program for Early Autism Research, Leadership, and Service (PEARLS), University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Michaela DUBAY, Department of Human Services, University of Virginia & Program for Early Autism Research, Leadership, and Service (PEARLS), University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Grace T. BARANEK, Mrs. T. H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California & Program for Early Autism Research, Leadership, and Service (PEARLS), University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Linda R. WATSON, Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill & Program for Early Autism Research, Leadership, and Service (PEARLS), University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Abstract Parental language input influences child language outcomes but may vary based on certain characteristics. This research examined how parental language differs during two contexts for toddlers at varying likelihood of autism based on their developmental skills. Parental language (quantity, quality, and pragmatic functions) was analyzed during dyadic play and mealtime interactions as a secondary data analysis of observational data from a study of toddlers at elevated and lower likelihood of autism. Child developmental skills and sensory processing were also assessed. Parents used more words per minute, directives, and verbs during play and more adjectives, descriptions, and questions during mealtime. Parental language differed based on child fine motor skills, receptive language, and levels of sensory hyporesponsiveness but not autism likelihood. Overall, this study found that parental language varies based on context and child developmental skills. Future research examining parental language should include pragmatic functions and context across developmental trajectories.

Key words autism, parental language, early intervention, play, mealtime

Fostering retention of word learning: The number of training sessions children retrieve words positively relates to post-training retention

Katherine R. GORDON, Boys Town National Research Hospital, USA

Stephanie L. LOWRY, Boys Town National Research Hospital, USA

Abstract During vocabulary instruction, it is important to teach words until their representations are robust enough to be retained. For adults, the number of training sessions a target item is successfully retrieved during training predicts the likelihood of post-training retention. To assess this relationship in children, we reanalyzed data from Gordon et al. (2021b, 2022). Four- to six-year-old children completed six training days with word form-object pairs and were tested one month later. Results indicate that the number of training sessions that a word form was retrieved was positively related to post-training retention. We discuss implications for vocabulary instruction and interventions.

Key words word learning, memory, retention, retrieval practice, preschool, kindergarten

期刊简介

A key publication in the field, Journal of Child Language publishes articles on all aspects of the scientific study of language behaviour in children, the principles which underlie it, and the theories which may account for it. The international range of authors and breadth of coverage allow the journal to forge links between many different areas of research including psychology, linguistics, cognitive science and anthropology. This interdisciplinary approach spans a wide range of interests: phonology, phonetics, morphology, syntax, vocabulary, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, and any other recognised facet of language study. Aspects of reading development are considered when there is a clear language component. The journal normally publishes full-length empirical studies or General Articles as well as shorter Brief Research Reports. To be appropriate for this journal, articles should include some quantitative data analyses, and articles based on case studies need to have a convincing rationale for this design. The journal publishes thematic special issues on occasion, the topic and format of which are determined by the editorial team.

作为该领域的一个重要出版物，《儿童语言研究》发表了关于儿童语言行为科学研究的所有方面的文章，其基础原则，以及可能解释语言行为的理论。国际范围的作者和广泛的覆盖面使该杂志能够在许多不同的研究领域之间建立联系，包括心理学，语言学，认知科学和人类学。这种跨学科的方法跨越了广泛的兴趣：语音学，语音学、形态学、句法学、词汇学、语义学、语用学、社会语言学，以及任何其他公认的语言研究方面。当有一个明确的语言组成部分时，阅读发展的各个方面被考虑。该杂志通常出版完整长度的实证研究或一般文章以及较短的简要研究报告。为了适合这个杂志，文章应该包括一些定量的数据分析，基于案例研究的文章需要有一个令人信服的设计理由。本刊有时会出版专题特刊，其主题和版式由编辑团队决定。

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