Language Development Is Cyclical In Kids

Does it sometimes seem like your kids are suddenly speaking a totally different language? Well, you may be on to something. New research on language development in African-American children shows that kids go through cycles – going back and forth between standard English and vernacular English a couple of times before settling into an established language pattern.

Specifically, researchers from NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill found that the English that kids speak when they begin grade school has a lot of vernacular features. Through fourth grade, those vernacular features begin to fade. The children  apparently adopt more standard English language patterns as a result of a focus on standard English in the classroom.

But as the kids get closer to middle school (and possibly begin to express themselves by bucking the system), those vernacular influences begin to return. Many kids will dial back their use of vernacular when they get to high school – but not all of them.

So, whether your kid sounds like George Plimpton, or uses slang and non-standard grammar all of a sudden, don’t get used to it.

The research is part of the longest-running and largest study to look into language development in African-American children. Launched in 1990, the study is ongoing – and will likely continue to produce research findings on a variety of issues. For example, research is forthcoming that will examine the role mothers play in their children’s use of vernacular language.

Because the study focuses specifically on African-American youth, it is not clear whether the findings are applicable to other groups. As a result, we still don’t know whether the valley girls of the 1980s ever spoke standard English.