Two separate studies examined older siblings' influence on the language exposure and language development of U.S.-born toddlers who were being raised in bilingual homes. The participants in Study 1 were 60 children between 16 and 30 months who had heard English and another language at home from birth; 26 had older siblings and 34 did not. The participants in Study 2 were 27 children, assessed at 22 and 30 months, who had heard English and Spanish from birth; 14 had school aged older siblings and 13 did not. Both studies found that older siblings used English more in talking to the toddlers than did other household members and that toddlers with older siblings were more advanced in English language development. Study 2 also found that the presence of a school aged older sibling increased mothers' use of English with their toddlers and that toddlers without a school aged older sibling were more advanced in Spanish than the toddlers with a school aged older sibling. These findings contribute to a picture of the complex processes that shape language use in bilingual homes and cause variability in young children's bilingual development.
Two studies test the hypotheses that individual differences in phonological memory among children younger than two years can be assessed using a non-word repetition task (NWR) and that these differences are related to the children's rates of vocabulary development. NWR accuracy, real word repetition accuracy and productive vocabulary were assessed in 15 children between 1 ; 9 and 2 ; 0 in Study 1 and in 21 children between 1 ; 8 and 2 ; 0 in Study 2. In both studies, NWR accuracy was significantly related to vocabulary percentile and, furthermore, uniquely accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in vocabulary when real word repetition accuracy was held constant. The findings establish NWR as a valid measure of phonological memory in very young children, and they open the door for further studies of the role of phonological memory in early word learning.
Background
Studies of productive language in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have focused on formal testing of syntax and semantics but have directed less attention to naturalistic discourse and formulaic language. Clinical observations suggest that individuals with AD retain the ability to produce formulaic language long after other cognitive abilities have deteriorated.
Aims
This study quantifies production of formulaic expressions in the spontaneous speech of individuals with AD. Persons with early- and late-onset forms of the disease were compared.
Methods & Procedures
Conversational language samples of individuals with early- (n = 5) and late-onset (n = 6) AD and healthy controls (n = 5) were analyzed to determine whether formulaic language, as measured by the number of words in formulaic expressions, differs between groups.
Outcomes & Results
Results indicate that individuals with AD, regardless of age of onset, used significantly more formulaic expressions than healthy controls. The early- and late-onset AD groups did not differ on formulaic language measures.
Conclusions
These findings contribute to a dual process model of cerebral function, which proposes differing processing principles for formulaic and novel expressions. In this model, subcortical areas, which remain intact into late in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, play an important role in the production of formulaic language. Applications to clinical practice include identifying preserved formulaic language and providing informed counseling to patient and family.
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