How grammatical are 3-year-olds?
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the level of grammatical accuracy in typically developing 3-year-olds and the types of errors they produce.


METHODS
Twenty-two 3-year-olds participated in a picture description task. The percentage of grammatical utterances was computed and error types were analyzed.


RESULTS
The mean level of grammatical accuracy in typical 3-year-olds was ∼71%, with a wide range of variability. The current study revealed a variety of error types produced by 3-year-olds, most of which were produced by fewer than 5 children. The pattern observed for most of the children was to produce a scattering of errors with no more than a few of any 1 error type.


CONCLUSIONS
The level of grammatical accuracy in 3-year-olds was skewed toward the high end. Although tense marking errors were the most frequent error type, they accounted for only 1/3 of the errors produced by 3-year-olds. A more general measure of grammaticality that considers additional aspects of language might, therefore, be useful in assessing language at this age.
Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA. eisenbergs@mail.montclair.edu
Sarita L
SL
Eisenberg
Ling-Yu
LY
Guo
Mor
M
Germezia
D000367:Age Factors; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007807:Language Tests; D008037:Linguistics / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors