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Joint attention and word learning in Ngas-speaking toddlers in Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2007

JANE B. CHILDERS ,
JULIE VAUGHAN  and
DONALD A. BURQUEST
JANE B. CHILDERS
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Trinity University
JULIE VAUGHAN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University
DONALD A. BURQUEST
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics, University of Texas at Arlington
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Abstract

This study examines infants' joint attention behavior and language development in a rural village in Nigeria. Participants included eight younger (1;0 to 1;5, M age=1;2) and eight older toddlers (1;7 to 2;7, M age=2;1). Joint attention behaviors in social interaction contexts were recorded and coded at two time points six months apart. Analyses revealed that these toddlers were producing more high-level joint attention behaviors than less complex behaviors. In addition, the quality and quantity of behaviors produced by these Nigerian children was similar to those found in other cultures. In analyses of children's noun and verb comprehension and production (in relation to the number of nouns or verbs on a parental checklist), parents reported proportionally more verbs than nouns, perhaps because Ngas has some linguistic characteristics that are similar to languages in which a noun bias is not seen (e.g. Mandarin Chinese). An examination of the interrelations of joint attention and language development revealed that joint attention behaviors were related to both noun and verb development at different times. The set of results is important for understanding the emergence of joint attention in traditional cultures, the comprehension and production of nouns and verbs given the specific linguistic properties of a language, and the importance that early social contexts may have for language development.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , May 2007 , pp. 199 - 225
Copyright
2007 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

This research was supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation and a grant from the National Institutes of Health (1R15 HD044447-01) to the first author. Portions of this research were presented at the 2002 meeting of the International Society of Infant Studies in Toronto, Canada, and at the 2006 meeting of the ISIS in Kyoto, Japan. We are honored that the families in Tuwan, Nigeria, graciously agreed to participate in the study. We extend special thanks to Mrs Margaret Gwan for her work as an exceptional research assistant, as well as to Revd Dr Soja Bewarang and Mr Iliya Gofwen for their helpful guidance in Nigeria. We thank Dr C. Nathan Marti for his assistance as a statistical consultant.