Abstract
Background/Aims: The number of different words (NDW), an essential measure of lexical diversity, is extremely valuable towards providing data regarding children’s language development. However, in Cyprus, practitioners are deprived of the opportunity to utilize NDW, as no normative data exist for toddlers who speak Cypriot Greek (CYG). Methods: The language samples of 36 monolingual CYG-speaking toddlers (aged 36, 40, 44, and 48 months) with a typical course of language development were collected and quantitatively analyzed. Based on the language sample analysis, we ascertained typical NDW values at the aforementioned ages and tested through a linear mixed-effects model whether gender and age affected NDW. Results: The results showed that age significantly predicted NDW increase; gender did not emerge as a significant predictor of NDW, but this may be due to the small statistical power. Conclusion: This study intends to provide the first step towards longitudinal investigation of the level of NDW for CYG-speaking children with a typical course of language development. The provided data, which could serve as preliminary norms, may be used – under some restrictions for the time being – during language assessment. Moreover, these acquired data could contribute to the development of an NDW database for diverse CYG-speaking populations of different age ranges in the future.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
