Aplicação de uma prova brasileira de vocabulário expressivo em crianças falantes do Português Europeu

Abstract

Objective to investigate the performance of European Portuguese children in a Brazilian test of expressive vocabulary, seeking to identify differences between age groups and gender, and to verify its applicability in this population. Methods the sample consisted of 150 typical developed children, of both genders, between the ages of 5 and 6. All children attended public schools in the north area of Portugal. To assess the semantic performance, the expressive vocabulary sub-test of the language test (ABFW) was used, considering the percentage of usual verbal assignments and the classification (adequate/inadequate) according to the Brazilian reference values. Results the performance of the European Portuguese children indicated that at age 6 they have a higher percentage of correct answers in expressive vocabulary. As for the gender, there were only occasional differences: the girls showed a greater dominance in the semantic fields of clothing (both ages) and furniture and utensils (at age 5), whereas the boys showed more dominance in the semantic field means of transportation (6 years). Regarding classification, there was no difference between age groups in overall performance. Only the semantic field shapes and colors had more individuals of 6 years with inadequate performance. Conclusion the reference values adopted in the Brazilian population for semantic performance indicated that more than 80% of the children of each age group could have their performance classified as adequate. Such evidence suggests that this tool shows potential as an instrument of quantitative vocabulary's assessment of 5 and 6-years old children in European Portuguese.

Processos de designação e substituição semântica usados por crianças falantes de Português Europeu numa prova de vocabulário

“…The lexical fields that presented the worst performance in this study coincided with those found in previous studies: clothes (27) , places (17,(27)(28)(29) and foods (17,27) .…”

“…The categories that obtained better performance, that is, those that showed to be more consolidated differed, to a certain extent, from the reference results of the ABFW test, for the same age groups, since the categories that presented greater percentage of designation of the usual word, referentially, were clothing, foods, places and shapes and colors (16,27) . The conceptual field shapes and colors was the only one that was among the categories that presented better results, both in this study and in the reference study.…”

“…In order to make it suitable for the Portuguese context, 26 words have been adapted, keeping the original image (words in parentheses indicate original in European Portuguese): sandal (sapatilha), owl (mocho), chick (pintainho), dog (cão), police car (carro de polícia), rocket (foguetão), truck (camião), bus (autocarro), train (comboio), sandwich (sandes), pasta (massa), popcorn (pipocas), pineapple (ananás), lampshade (candeeiro), refrigerator (frigorífico), latrine (sanita), sink (lavatório), cup (chávena), barber (cabeleireiro), farmer (agricultor), police officer (polícia), brown (castanho), guitar (viola), tetter-totter (balancé), slides (escorrega) and swing (baloiço) (27) .…”

“…In Portugal, the scarcity of instruments that assess language and, specifically, some language components that allow perceiving all these processes of its development still is notorious. In Brazil, to assess language and the processes inherent to its acquisition, the ABFW Children's Language Test (ABFW) is frequently used (ABFW -Test of Children's Language in Areas of Phonology, Vocabulary, Fluency and Pragmatics) (16) , both in the field of research and in the clinical field, evaluating children with typical development, but also children with specific language disorders, with phonological disorders and deafness (16,17,27) . The instrument analyzes in different language categories the methods used by children for vocabulary designation and typology of substitution processes used in the attempt to name the word (figure) presented.…”

“…This test was previously adapted for European Portuguese (EP) and reveals potential as an instrument for assessing vocabulary namely in the early identification of language difficulties in 5-6 year-old Portuguese-speaking children (27) . However, it is important to compare the results of the two populations, especially regarding the semantic designation and substitution processes that children use, which may reinforce the pertinence of their applicability and standardization for the Portuguese population.…”