An Analysis of the Language of Young Hearing-Impaired Children in Terms of Syntax, Semantics, and Use

The purpose of this study was to describe the language acquisition of young hearing-impaired children. The 20 participants were 3- to 5-year-old children who had severe to profound hearing losses. They were videotaped for one hour, interacting individually with the investigator who was using stimulus materials. Each of the four analysis methods measured at least one component of language-syntax, semantics, or use. The results showed that the subjects were acquiring language using the same semantic categories, syntactic forms, and functional uses as normally developing children but at later chronological ages. All of the hearing-impaired children were developing a rule system consistent with patterns of normal language acquisition. Therefore, their language could best be described as delayed.