The Linguistic Assessment of a Young Child’s Language

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Running head: THE LINGUISTIC ASSESSMENT OF A YOUNG CHILD’S LANGUAGE The Linguistic Assessment of a Young Child’s Language Your Name California State University, Los Angeles Partner 1 worked on questions: 1, 4, 9, 12 Partner 2 worked on questions: 2, 5, 7, 11 The Linguistic Assessment of a Young Child’s Language Introduction The ability to effectively communicate with others is one of the predominant characteristics of any society. The main mode of communication is speech, and while highly complex, it is learned by children in a matter of years. Every child follows his own timetable, as development is predicated on any number of factors, from birth order to a parent’s socioeconomic status. Yet, there are similar patterns that can be found in children’s speech, and which can be evaluated once transcribed into the basic units of language. Just as words contain phonemes, language is comprised of specific components that have been identified by linguists. Through the assessment of phonology, lexicon, syntax, morphology, and communicative competence a child’s language development and his progress can be followed. Learning about the processes children go through in learning to communicate allows for the tracking of normative development. Such assessments have allowed professionals to identify milestones, stages, and common processes that children go through as they acquire language abilities. Method Participants Lukas is a 3 ½ year old boy and the youngest of four sons. His oldest brother is 14, and the one nearest in age to him is 10, and so he has many competent language users available to him. The family is Asian American, however, only English is spoken in the household as both parents are second generation American born Chinese. Lukas’ mother is a high school English teacher with a master’s degree, while his father is a USC graduate who manages several
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