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Dual language exposure and early bilingual development*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2011

ERIKA HOFF ,
CYNTHIA CORE ,
SILVIA PLACE ,
ROSARIO RUMICHE ,
MELISSA SEÑOR  and
MARISOL PARRA
ERIKA HOFF*
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University
CYNTHIA CORE
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University
SILVIA PLACE
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University
ROSARIO RUMICHE
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University
MELISSA SEÑOR
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University
MARISOL PARRA
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University
*
Address for correspondence: Erika Hoff, Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL 33314. e-mail: ehoff@fau.edu
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Abstract

The extant literature includes conflicting assertions regarding the influence of bilingualism on the rate of language development. The present study compared the language development of equivalently high-SES samples of bilingually and monolingually developing children from 1 ; 10 to 2 ; 6. The monolingually developing children were significantly more advanced than the bilingually developing children on measures of both vocabulary and grammar in single language comparisons, but they were comparable on a measure of total vocabulary. Within the bilingually developing sample, all measures of vocabulary and grammar were related to the relative amount of input in that language. Implications for theories of language acquisition and for understanding bilingual development are discussed.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 1 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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Footnotes

[*]

Erika Hoff, Silvia Place, Rosario Rumiche, Melissa Señor and Marisol Parra, Department of Psychology. Cynthia Core, formerly in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, is now in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, The George Washington University. This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD054427 to Erika Hoff and HD054427-S1 to Melissa Señor).

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