Communicative initiations in normal and late-talking toddlers

E-ISSN： 1469-1817|12|4|419-431

ISSN： 0142-7164

Source： Applied Psycholinguistics, Vol.12, Iss.4, 1991-12, pp. : 419-431

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Abstract

Initiation of communication in videotaped, unstructured mother–child interactions was examined in two groups of 2-year-olds: those with normal language development and those with late acquisition of expressive language. Results revealed that the late-talkers (LTs) expressed significantly fewer intentions, but that the difference between the two groups could be accounted for entirely by the difference in one type of intention: the expression of joint attentional intentions. Investigation of the forms of expression of intentions showed that the normal group used significantly more verbal forms of expression, as expected. The predominant form for the normal group was word combinations, while the predominant form for the LTs was vocalization. The implications of these results for understanding the mechanisms involved in early language delay are discussed.