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Age-relation, reliability and grammatical validity of measures of utterance length

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Jean A. Rondal ,
Martine Ghiotto ,
Serge Bredart  and
Jean-François Bachelet
Jean A. Rondal*
Affiliation:
University of Liège
Martine Ghiotto
Affiliation:
University of Liège
Serge Bredart
Affiliation:
University of Liège
Jean-François Bachelet
Affiliation:
University of Liège
*
Laboratory for Language Psychology, University of Liège, B-32, Sart Tilman, 4000 Liège, Belgium
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Abstract

This study evaluated the age-relationship, intra-sample reliability and grammatical validity of MLU-like measures of utterance length in the free speech of 21 normally developing children aged 1;8 to 2;8 with MLU between 1·05 and 3·06. Contrary to a previous study by Klee & Fitzgerald (1985). it was found that measures of utterance length hold a good relation with age, are reliable and predict grammatical development well in the age and MLU range considered. It is argued that there are identifiable points in the developmental evolution of MLU and MLU-like indices beyond which their reliability and validity have serious problems. Below these points, they constitute sound measures of syntactic development.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , October 1987 , pp. 433 - 446
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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