A longitudinal analysis of the spontaneous speech (first-person pronouns and reflexives) of three children tests the claim that children's poor performance in binding and coreference is due to performance factors. Children appear to understand the principles of binding and coreference at the earliest stages of language development. (33 references)…

The claim that multiple-birth children use "twin language" was investigated by describing and comparing the phonological characteristics of the speech of 19 sets of multiple birth children (aged 2-4) and by measuring multiple-birth children's understanding of their twins' or triplets' context-free speech. Results indicated that multiple…

A blind child and her sighted twin sister were recorded at home once a month from 2;5 to 3;5, and their repetitions and routines were analyzed with respect to three dimensions. Results showed that the blind twin used routines and modified imitations and repetitions more frequently, and her use of modified repetitions increased during the study.…

Personal event and fictional narratives are compared across 36 normal children in 2 language-ability (one high, one low) groups using episodic analysis. Findings suggest that narrative structures for personal event narratives and fictional stories may follow different developmental paths, and that differences in productive language abilities…

Notes the difficulty caregivers sometimes have identifying communication disorders in bilingual children. Offers advice on identification of such problems, bilingual development, effective observation of children in seven areas of communication, ways to encourage bilingualism in preschool children, and experts who can help diagnose speech-language…

Discusses a study of conversational dyadic interaction between children aged 1.5 to 3 years; their 4-, 5-, 7-, or 8-year-old siblings; and their mothers. Mothers were more supportive conversational partners and adapted their level of speech more than siblings. (GH)

Ways that conversations among family members provide data useful for drawing conclusions about intrafamily relationships are examined. Unique contributions of both deductive and inductive paradigms to the study of parent-child interaction are discussed. Contains 65 references. (Author/LB)

Discusses (1) the new perspective on children's capabilities provided by focus on discourse; (2) conversation with an older member of the culture as a context for development; (3) links between linguistic and cognitive development; and (4) children as a member of a culture from infancy onward. Developmental changes and problems in discourse study…

Comparison of temporal system acquisition between native English-speaking children and Polish adults learning English revealed that, although native learners comprehended absolute temporal contrasts first and relative components later, the second language-learners' initial temporal systems had both absolute and relative dimensions. (36 references)…

It is suggested that the long-term effects of early education are mediated by enhanced educational aspiration and motivation, not cognitive skills per se. This model is discussed with reference to the Plan, Do, Review Cycle in the High/Scope curriculum and the experimental work of Dweck and Legett on the development of mastery orientation. (14…

Data from 34 children suggest that a range of Italian grammatical morphemes reach the level of mastery by age 3;6-4;0. In the period between 2;6 and 3;0, as use and comprehension of morphemes are being consolidated, homonymy and informativeness seem not to play a role, though number continues to exert an influence. Some form classes of Italian are…

This study of 80 autistic (ages 6-18), mentally handicapped, and normal children found that more autistic subjects used neologisms and idiosyncratic language than age- and language-skill-matched control groups. More autistic children used words inappropriately that were neither phonologically nor conceptually related to intended English words than…

This study tested the hypothesis that children as young as two years use what adults tell them about meaning relations when making inferences about new words. Subjects (n=18) learned two new terms, with instructions to treat one term as superordinate to the other or replace one with the other, and with no instructions. Children used both kinds of…

Examined cross-linguistic similarities and differences in early lexical and grammatical development among English- and Italian-speaking preschoolers. Parents completed surveys on vocabulary size, vocabulary composition, and grammatical complexity. No cross-linguistic differences surfaced in the composition of vocabulary in this age range. There…

The lexical variables of word frequency and neighborhood density were hypothesized to facilitate sound change to varying degrees. Twelve children with functional phonological delays participated in an alternating-treatments experiment to promote sound change. Results indicated word frequency was most facilitative in sound change, whereas dense…