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The content of children's definitions: The oral-written distinction

Ohio University, USA, marinels{at}ohio.edu

The extant literature on oral and written language has shown several interesting differences in terms of production and style. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the content of word definitions provided by children in both the oral and written modes. A total of 30 typically developing children (mean age: 9 years; 2 months) defined common nouns in the oral and written modes. The definitions were coded for use of categorical terms (e.g., apple: fruit) and attributes (e.g., apple: red). The findings indicated that children displayed different types of word knowledge in the two modes, with written definitions generally having the advantage for production of categorical terms. Results are discussed with respect to the higher level of planning that is generally involved in written language compared to oral language. Implications for assessment and education are also discussed. This study expands the extant literature on how mode of language production can exert a considerable influence on a child's display of lexical knowledge.

Key Words: expressive language • language assessment • lexical knowledge • nouns • written language

Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Vol. 25, No. 1, 89-102 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0265659008098662


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