title: Longitudinal changes in phonological whole-word measures in 2-year-olds.
abstract: The purpose of this investigation was to describe changes in whole-word productions in the speech of children as they aged from 24 to 36 months. Spontaneous language samples were obtained from 12 participants during parent-child interactions every 3 months, beginning with each participant's second birthday. Fifty different words from each sample were analysed to determine changes in a variety of whole-word measures including phonological mean length of utterance (PMLU) for target words and words produced, proportion of whole-word proximity (PWP), and proportion of words produced correctly (PWC). Significant changes in whole-word measures were evidenced by the participants over the course of the investigation, and those scores did not show stabilization by the age of 36 months.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, 54481, USA. maggie.watson@uwsp.edu
authors.forename: Maggie M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Terrell
mesh_terms: D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010700:Phonetics; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013068:Speech Production Measurement / Q000379:methods*