DEVELOPMENTAL REFERENCES
8-12 months:
Phonology
Babbling (look for consonant babbling)
Imitation: gestural and vocal – check for stimulability
Semantics
Understanding of 3-15 words
Object knowledge – basis for first word
Means to End (Causality) – How do they get what they want?
Pragmatics
Basis for early intentional language
Illocutionary Stage – intention without convention
Sensory-motor tasks that also indicate early cognition
12-18 months:
Phonology
First 50 words usually with CV shape
Use of reduplication, syllable deletion, assimilation, and final consonant deletion common
Sets of phonemic development continues up to 8 years
p, b, m, d, n, h, w, j
k, g, f, v, t, d, n
r, s, z, l, “th”, “ch”
Semantics
Average expressive vocabulary 50-100 words
(agent, action, object location, possession, rejection, disappearance, nonexistence, denial)
Assessing comprehension: Give me ____ objects (3-5)
Show me (3-5) verbs
Play assessment: Do what you do with an object. Pretending is basic to language
learning.
Pragmatics
Locutionary stage: uses intentions with convention
Check the means and range of intentional communication
18-24 months:
Phonology
CVC and two syllable words emerge
Consonant inventory: 14 consonants in 10 minute sample (Only 6 indicates small
expressive vocabulary)
Syntax
Two-word utterances emerge
MLU less than 3 address semantic relations
Semantics
Agent-action, agent-object, action-object, action-location, entity location,
possessor-possession, demonstrative-entity, attribute entity
Pragmatics
Advanced intentions: acknowledging, answering, requests information
24-30 months:
Phonology
Awareness of rhyme
(24-36) Consonant inventory of 18 in a ten minute sample
(less than 10 indicates small expressive vocabulary)
Syntax
Brown’s Stage II
Morphemes –ing, in/on, plural –s
Use of “no, not, can’t, don’t” as negation
(24-36) MLU is 1.5-2.4
If child has 50 words, should begin two-word utterances
If child is putting words together, should see sequencing in play
Semantics
Understanding of and use of questions about objects (what, where)
Can do picture pointing tasks (PPVT)
Expressive vocabulary: 2.5 years 250-312 words, some have 546
Pragmatics
“Please” used as polite form
(24-36) Symbolic Play: decontextualize, thematic, organization and integration,
self-other relations (3 different actions), agent (other than child) + action +
object
Narratives are primarily labels and descriptions
Order of questions (average age in years of acquisition)
What (2), Where (2.5), Who (3), Whose (3), Why (3), How many (3), How (3.5), When (4.5)
Spatial terms
3 yrs. in, on, out, over, under, beside, next to, in front of
4 yrs. on top, between
5 yrs. behind, below
6 yrs. above
Communicative Act
1. The act must be directed to adult
2. Must have affect or intended affect on adult behavior
3. Must persist
If child is in the emerging language stage (18-36 months) and has fewer than 10
communicative acts in 15 minutes of free play, there is a deficit in expression of
communicative intentions
18 months: 2 communicative acts/min.
24 months: 5 communicative acts/min.
30-36 months:
Phonology
Speech is 75% intelligible
Ability to produce rhyme emerges
Syntax
Brown’s Stage II:
Present tense auxiliaries appear
Be verbs used inconsistently
Over generalization of past tense form
Semantics
See order of questions above
See order of spatial terms above
Pragmatics
Topics are extended adding information
Some requests for clarification provided
Narratives are “sequences” with themes, but no plot
36-42 months:
Phonology
Use of reduplication, syllable deletion, assimilation, and final consonant deletion is less common
Use of liquid simplification, cluster reduction, stopping, fronting continues
Syntax
Brown’s Stage IV
Emergence of complex sentences
Auxiliary verbs are placed correctly in questions and negatives
Irregular past tense, articles (a, the), possessive ‘s acquired
Semantics
Understanding and use of basic kinship terms
Semantic relations between adjacent and conjoined sentences include
temporal, additive, causal, contrastive
Pragmatics
More flexibility in requesting:
Permission request (Can you ….?_
Indirect request (Would you ….?)
Narratives are “primitive” with theme and some temporal organization
42-60 months:
Phonology
Speech is 100% intelligible
Ability to segment words into syllables begins to emerge
Syntax
Brown’s State V: be verbs, regular past tense, 3rd person –s
Semantics
Letter names and sounds, number and counting emerges
Use of “when, so, because, if” as conjunctions
Pragmatics
Narratives are “chains” with some plot, but no high point or resolution
“Hints” that do not mention the intentions in the request
5-7 years:
Phonology
Articulation is mostly error free
Ability to segment words into phonemes emerges
Syntax
Use and understanding of passive tense emerges
Semantics
Average expressive vocabulary is 5000 words
Check core curriculum for language skills, i.e. similarities, differences, categorization, associations,
functions
Pragmatics
Narratives are “true” stories with central focus, high point and resolution
7-9 years:
Syntax
Literate language needed for academics
8 years of age a child can tell when a sentence is grammatically incorrect
Semantics
Word definitions include synonyms and categories
Understanding of multiple meanings
Capacity for figurative language increases
Pragmatics
Narratives contain complex episodes
Begin to understand jokes and riddles based on sound similarities
9-12 years:
Syntax
Use of word order variations increases in writing
Semantics
Can explain meanings of words with multiple meanings
Understand most common idiom
Phonology
Babbling (look for consonant babbling)
Imitation: gestural and vocal – check for stimulability
Semantics
Understanding of 3-15 words
Object knowledge – basis for first word
Means to End (Causality) – How do they get what they want?
Pragmatics
Basis for early intentional language
Illocutionary Stage – intention without convention
Sensory-motor tasks that also indicate early cognition
12-18 months:
Phonology
First 50 words usually with CV shape
Use of reduplication, syllable deletion, assimilation, and final consonant deletion common
Sets of phonemic development continues up to 8 years
p, b, m, d, n, h, w, j
k, g, f, v, t, d, n
r, s, z, l, “th”, “ch”
Semantics
Average expressive vocabulary 50-100 words
(agent, action, object location, possession, rejection, disappearance, nonexistence, denial)
Assessing comprehension: Give me ____ objects (3-5)
Show me (3-5) verbs
Play assessment: Do what you do with an object. Pretending is basic to language
learning.
Pragmatics
Locutionary stage: uses intentions with convention
Check the means and range of intentional communication
18-24 months:
Phonology
CVC and two syllable words emerge
Consonant inventory: 14 consonants in 10 minute sample (Only 6 indicates small
expressive vocabulary)
Syntax
Two-word utterances emerge
MLU less than 3 address semantic relations
Semantics
Agent-action, agent-object, action-object, action-location, entity location,
possessor-possession, demonstrative-entity, attribute entity
Pragmatics
Advanced intentions: acknowledging, answering, requests information
24-30 months:
Phonology
Awareness of rhyme
(24-36) Consonant inventory of 18 in a ten minute sample
(less than 10 indicates small expressive vocabulary)
Syntax
Brown’s Stage II
Morphemes –ing, in/on, plural –s
Use of “no, not, can’t, don’t” as negation
(24-36) MLU is 1.5-2.4
If child has 50 words, should begin two-word utterances
If child is putting words together, should see sequencing in play
Semantics
Understanding of and use of questions about objects (what, where)
Can do picture pointing tasks (PPVT)
Expressive vocabulary: 2.5 years 250-312 words, some have 546
Pragmatics
“Please” used as polite form
(24-36) Symbolic Play: decontextualize, thematic, organization and integration,
self-other relations (3 different actions), agent (other than child) + action +
object
Narratives are primarily labels and descriptions
Order of questions (average age in years of acquisition)
What (2), Where (2.5), Who (3), Whose (3), Why (3), How many (3), How (3.5), When (4.5)
Spatial terms
3 yrs. in, on, out, over, under, beside, next to, in front of
4 yrs. on top, between
5 yrs. behind, below
6 yrs. above
Communicative Act
1. The act must be directed to adult
2. Must have affect or intended affect on adult behavior
3. Must persist
If child is in the emerging language stage (18-36 months) and has fewer than 10
communicative acts in 15 minutes of free play, there is a deficit in expression of
communicative intentions
18 months: 2 communicative acts/min.
24 months: 5 communicative acts/min.
30-36 months:
Phonology
Speech is 75% intelligible
Ability to produce rhyme emerges
Syntax
Brown’s Stage II:
Present tense auxiliaries appear
Be verbs used inconsistently
Over generalization of past tense form
Semantics
See order of questions above
See order of spatial terms above
Pragmatics
Topics are extended adding information
Some requests for clarification provided
Narratives are “sequences” with themes, but no plot
36-42 months:
Phonology
Use of reduplication, syllable deletion, assimilation, and final consonant deletion is less common
Use of liquid simplification, cluster reduction, stopping, fronting continues
Syntax
Brown’s Stage IV
Emergence of complex sentences
Auxiliary verbs are placed correctly in questions and negatives
Irregular past tense, articles (a, the), possessive ‘s acquired
Semantics
Understanding and use of basic kinship terms
Semantic relations between adjacent and conjoined sentences include
temporal, additive, causal, contrastive
Pragmatics
More flexibility in requesting:
Permission request (Can you ….?_
Indirect request (Would you ….?)
Narratives are “primitive” with theme and some temporal organization
42-60 months:
Phonology
Speech is 100% intelligible
Ability to segment words into syllables begins to emerge
Syntax
Brown’s State V: be verbs, regular past tense, 3rd person –s
Semantics
Letter names and sounds, number and counting emerges
Use of “when, so, because, if” as conjunctions
Pragmatics
Narratives are “chains” with some plot, but no high point or resolution
“Hints” that do not mention the intentions in the request
5-7 years:
Phonology
Articulation is mostly error free
Ability to segment words into phonemes emerges
Syntax
Use and understanding of passive tense emerges
Semantics
Average expressive vocabulary is 5000 words
Check core curriculum for language skills, i.e. similarities, differences, categorization, associations,
functions
Pragmatics
Narratives are “true” stories with central focus, high point and resolution
7-9 years:
Syntax
Literate language needed for academics
8 years of age a child can tell when a sentence is grammatically incorrect
Semantics
Word definitions include synonyms and categories
Understanding of multiple meanings
Capacity for figurative language increases
Pragmatics
Narratives contain complex episodes
Begin to understand jokes and riddles based on sound similarities
9-12 years:
Syntax
Use of word order variations increases in writing
Semantics
Can explain meanings of words with multiple meanings
Understand most common idiom