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Word and Nonword Repetition Abilities in Spanish Language: Longitudinal Evidence from Typically Developing and Late Talking Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 December 2017

Irene Rujas ,
Sonia Mariscal ,
Marta Casla ,
Miguel Lázaro  and
Eva Murillo
Irene Rujas*
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain).
Sonia Mariscal
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain).
Marta Casla
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain).
Miguel Lázaro
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain).
Eva Murillo
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain).
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Irene Rujas. Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación de la Universidad Complutense. 28040 Madrid (Spain). E-mail: irenerujas@gmail.com
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Abstract

This longitudinal study examined the early word and nonword repetition abilities of monolingual Spanish speaking children. We explored the role that word status, word length, and time play in repetition performance of children with different vocabulary levels. We also examined the predictive value of vocabulary level in repetition abilities. Thirty-seven children participated in this study: 15 late talkers and 22 typically developing children. Families completed the Spanish version of the MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventory (MCDI) at age 2; children performed a word and nonword repetition task at three different moments, with a temporal interval of 6 months between Time 1 and Time 2, and eight months between Time 2 and Time 3, periods during which linguistic development takes place. We found significant effects for word status, word length, vocabulary level and time: words are repeated better than nonwords; one syllable items are easier to repeat than two and three syllable ones; the performance of late talking children is lower compared to typically developing children throughout the study; and repetition abilities improve longitudinally. In addition, early vocabulary level predicts subsequent repetition abilities and early nonword repetition abilities predict future nonword repetition performance.

Keywords

late talking childrenlongitudinal datanonword repetitionSpanish language
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 20 , 2017 , E72
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2017 

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Footnotes

How to cite this article:

Rujas, I., Mariscal, S., Casla, M., Lázaro, M., & Murillo, E. (2017). Word and nonword repetition abilities in Spanish language: Longitudinal evidence from typically developing and late talking children. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 20. e72. Doi:10.1017/sjp.2017.69

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