Some Possible Explanations of Sex Differences in Language Development and Disorders

The Acquisition of Genderlect*

“…Girls appeared shy, and the only category they referred to more than boys was the "female role." Sex differences in verbosity, adjective use, and articulation and pronunciation were reported by other researchers (Bernstein, 1971;Entwisle, 1966;Maccoby, 1966;McCarthy, 1953;Winitz, 1959).…”

Sex differences in early communication development: behavioral and neurobiological indicators of more vulnerable communication system development in boys

“…It has long been known that boys and girls differ in the rates of language development. More than 60 years ago, McCarthy (11) noticed that “these differences are seldom statistically significant, but the careful observer cannot ignore the amazing consistency with which these small differences appear in one investigation after another, each being conducted by a different experimenter, employing different techniques, different subjects, and sampling different geographical populations.“ A recent systematic literature review (12) confirmed the existence of sex differences, but also pointed that they are limited, and often interact with a variety of factors, such as age and task. Generally, differences decrease with age (13), although some studies show the contrary and emphasize that the effect size of sex on toddlers’/children’s/adolescents’ language largely depends on their age and the language aspect (14).…”

Gender Differences in the Language Development of Late-talking Toddlers at Age 3

“…Evidence of differences subsequent to 2 years of age includes a study by McCarthy (1953) that showed that gender differences in favor of girls become apparent when "true" speech begins to emerge, around the second year of life. The number of speech sounds produced was found to be nearly identical until then.…”

“…He suggested that these differences result in a predisposition for infant girls to respond more readily to auditory stimuli while boys respond more readily to visual stimuli. McCarthy (1953) stressed the importance of imitative babbling as a highly recognized factor in the establishment of language patterns. She claimed that because the primary caretaker and companion for children of both sexes is most often female, infant girls find verbal communication more satisfying than infant boys.…”