From early communication to bimodal vocabulary acquisition
A longitudinal study of hearing children with deaf mothers from infancy to school-age years
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21697381 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Evelyne Mercure (0000-0003-1645-902X, University of London, corresponding author), Victoria L Mousley (0000-0002-0911-6670, Universidad de Londres), Victoria St Clair (University of London), Laura Goldberg (0000-0001-5560-3720, University College London), Kimberley Coulson-Thaker (Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust), Mairéad Macsweeney (0000-0002-2315-3507, University College London) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 655-669 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Bilingualism Language and Cognition (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1366-7289 • E-ISSN: 1469-1841 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s1366728925100308 |
| PMID | 41835090 |
| OpenAlex | W4412684412 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 48 |
Early language development has rarely been studied in hearing children with deaf parents who are exposed to both a spoken and a signed language (bimodal bilinguals). This study presents longitudinal data of early communication and vocabulary development in a group of 31 hearing infants exposed to British Sign Language (BSL) and spoken English, at 6 months, 15 months, 24 months and 7 years, in comparison with monolinguals (exposed to English) and unimodal bilinguals (exposed to two spoken languages). No differences were observed in early communication or vocabulary development between bimodal bilinguals and monolinguals, but greater early communicative skills in infancy were found in bimodal bilinguals compared to unimodal bilinguals. Within the bimodal bilingual group, BSL and English vocabulary sizes were positively related. These data provide a healthy picture of early language acquisition in those learning a spoken and signed language simultaneously from birth
Audiology · Developmental psychology · Language acquisition · Linguistics · Longitudinal study · Pedagogy · Teaching method · Vocabulary · Vocabulary development · Hearing Impairment and Communication · Language Development and Disorders · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Psychology
Language Matters
Individual Differences in Children’s Pragmatic Ability
Bimodal bilingualism
Early gesture selectively predicts later language learning
The relationship between bilingual exposure and vocabulary development
Lexical access and vocabulary development in very young bilinguals
Predictive validity of the New Zealand MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory
Sometimes larger, sometimes smaller
Cross-language distance influences receptive vocabulary outcomes of bilingual children
Deaf children need language, not (just) speech
Double it up
Learning While Babbling
Early Intervention Protocols
Incidental Word Learning in a Hearing Child of Deaf Adults
Deaf Parents of Cochlear-Implanted Children
Spoken English Language Development Among Native Signing Children With Cochlear Implants
Deaf Children’s ASL Vocabulary and ASL Syntax Knowledge Supports English Knowledge
Measures of early social communication and vocabulary production to predict language outcomes at two and three years in late-talking toddlers
The role of joint attentional processes in early language development
Rhythmic distance between languages affects the development of speech perception in bilingual infants
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |