Sociodemographic and Pre-Linguistic Factors in Early Vocabulary Acquisition

Abstract

Here, we studied the beginnings of language development, jointly assessing two groups of precursors, sociodemographic and pre-linguistic, that have previously been studied separately. Thus, the general objective of this study was to explore which factors best explained the acquisition of initial expressive vocabulary. The sample consisted of 504 participants from Catalan-speaking homes with ages ranging between 10 and 18 months. The data were obtained through the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MCB-CDIs). Vocabulary development shows a lexical spurt at 17 months. Regression analyses show that pre-linguistic factors have more explanatory power of than sociodemographic ones. Within the sociodemographic variables, age, birth order and birth weight explain part of the vocabulary variance. With respect to pre-linguistic variables, imitation, late gestures and phrase comprehension are predictors of the initial vocabulary acquisition. Specifically, imitation and late gestures were the pre-linguistic behaviours that made it possible to distinguish between children with higher and lower levels of vocabulary. We discussed these findings in relation to their relevance for language acquisition and for the early assessment of linguistic competence.

Adaptación y normativización del Inventario del Desarrollo Comunicativo Mac Arthur Bates (CDI-Forma II) al español rioplatense

“…El CDI ha resultado ser un instrumento idóneo para caracterizar el desarrollo de la comunicación y el lenguaje inicial y ponderar las diferencias individuales dentro de dicho proceso (Fenson et al, 2000;Kuvač-Kraljević et al, 2021;Serrat et al, 2021;Urm y Tulviste, 2016). Además, ha proporcionado evidencia acerca del tamaño del vocabulario como predictor del desarrollo lingüístico y social durante los años preescolares e incluso más allá, dando cuenta de la interacción entre factores individuales y contextuales que caracterizan dicho desarrollo (Pérez Pereira y Resches, 2011;Stolt, 2018).…”

“…Sin embargo, estos resultados no se reflejaron en niños más pequeños. Otros estudios, entre tanto, no encontraron diferencias significativas (Bleses, et al, 2008;Kuvač-Kraljević et al, 2021;Serrat et al, 2021;Stolt et al 2007), mientras que algunos otros han informado efectos de sobreestimación entre padres de bajo nivel educativo (Feldman et al, 2005;Reese y Read, 2000). Es importante destacar, no obstante, que la mayor parte de estas investigaciones se han realizado en familias de habla inglesa, existiendo pocos datos acerca de la incidencia de esta variable en niños de habla hispana y, menos aún, en el contexto latinoamericano (Jackson Maldonado et al, 2012).…”

Desempenho em vocabulário receptivo e variáveis sociodemográficas em escolares com queixa de dificuldades de aprendizagem

“…Essa diferença nos achados pode estar relacionada ao fato que os escolares já se encontravam em fase posterior à aquisição e desenvolvimento da linguagem oral, pois o vocabulário receptivo é uma das primeiras habilidades a se desenvolver na criança (29,30) o que, de certa forma, já direciona o olhar para as dificuldades de aprendizagem daqueles com desempenho inferior, inclusive pela idade dos sujeitos avaliados.…”

Introduction to Language Development in Children: Description to Detect and Prevent Language Difficulties

“…Several studies in this Special Issue describe important factors that affect language development at different ages, thus depicting several key aspects to be considered in the prevention of communication and language difficulties throughout childhood. These studies range from the beginnings of word production [4] or gestures [5] to the impact of the use of technological devices in preadolescent children [6]. In addition, they cover different aspects or linguistic components, from phonetics [7], vocabulary [4], or syntax [8], to non-referential gestures related to narrative development [5].…”

“…These studies range from the beginnings of word production [4] or gestures [5] to the impact of the use of technological devices in preadolescent children [6]. In addition, they cover different aspects or linguistic components, from phonetics [7], vocabulary [4], or syntax [8], to non-referential gestures related to narrative development [5].…”