How Grammatical are 3-Year-Olds?
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Journal / Book Title
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools
Abstract
Purpose: This study investigated the level of grammatical accuracy in typically developing 3-year-olds and the types of errors they produce. Method: Twenty-two 3-year-olds participated in a picture description task. The percentage of grammatical utterances was computed and error types were analyzed. Results: The mean level of grammatical accuracy in typical 3-year-olds was ~71%, with a wide range of variability. The current study revealed a variety of error types produced by 3-year-olds, most of which were produced by fewer than 5 children. The pattern observed for most of the children was to produce a scattering of errors with no more than a few of any 1 error type. Conclusion: The level of grammatical accuracy in 3-year-olds was skewed toward the high end. Although tense marking errors were the most frequent error type, they accounted for only 1/3 of the errors produced by 3-year-olds. A more general measure of grammaticality that considers additional aspects of language might, therefore, be useful in assessing language at this age.
DOI
10.1044/0161-1461(2011/10-0093)
Montclair State University Digital Commons Citation
Eisenberg, Sarita; Guo, Ling Yu; and Germezia, Mor, "How Grammatical are 3-Year-Olds?" (2012). Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 59.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/communcsci-disorders-facpubs/59
Published Citation
Eisenberg, S. L., Guo, L. Y., & Germezia, M. (2012). How grammatical are 3-year-olds?. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 43(1), 36–52. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2011/10-0093)