Development of Using Endings (“Eomi”) in Spontaneous Language Samples from 2- to 3-Year-Old Korean Children

Abstract

Objectives: “Eomi” is known as an important grammatical marker in early Korean language development in that it can change the meaning of words, and their function in sentences. The purpose of this study was to investigate Eomi use in spontaneous language samples of young children.Methods: Fifty young children aged 2;6-3;11 participated and were classified into three age groups; late 2-year, early 3-year, and late 3-year groups. Spontaneous language samples were collected during reciprocal book reading procedure with examiners. The number of total Eomi (NTE), and the number of different Eomi (NDE) were counted for overall Eomi and its subcategories; Prefinal Eomi (PE), Connecting Eomi (CE), Transformative Eomi (TE), Sentence closing Eomi (SE). ANOVA and regression analysis were employed for investigating group difference and predicting variables for age, overall NTE and NDE.Results: The overall NTE significantly increased between the late 2-year group and the late 3-year group, and the overall NDE increased significantly between the late 2-yearold group and both 3-year groups. Analysis in Eomi subcategories showed a significant age effect in NTE and NDE of CE and TE. Regression analysis demonstrated that the NDE of TE (57.3%) and CE (6.1%) explained chronological age.Conclusion: Use of Eomi significantly increased during early childhood. The results imply that NDE along with NTE of overall and subcategories of Eomi should be considered in language assessment.