Language associations in bilingual preschoolers (Zhou et al., 2025)
Creators: name: Zhou, Jiangling
name: Mai, Ziyin
name: Lau, Elaine
name: Lum, Connie
name: Thian, Ai Ling
name: Yip, Virginia
Publisher: name: ASHA journals
Year: 2025
Subjects: classificationCode: 470402
subject: Child language acquisition
classificationCode: 470409
subject: Linguistic structures (incl. phonology, morphology and syntax)
classificationCode: 470212
subject: Multicultural, intercultural and cross-cultural studies

description: <b>Purpose: </b>This study aims to examine the associations of phonological, lexical, and grammatical skills within and between languages in Mandarin–English bilingual preschoolers.<b>Method: </b>Sixty-three Singaporean Mandarin–English bilingual children aged 3–5 years were assessed for articulation, receptive vocabulary, and receptive grammar using standardized instruments in English and compatible tools in Mandarin. Regression analyses were performed on each language outcome, with other language variables as predictors, controlling for age, nonverbal working memory, and home language environment.<b>Results: </b>Phonological and grammatical skills in one language predicted corresponding skills in the other. Phonemes shared across languages showed higher accuracy rates compared to unshared phonemes, while accuracy varied across grammatical structures. Vocabulary did not correlate between languages. It was influenced by household language distribution, with Mandarin vocabulary also correlating with nonverbal working memory. Mandarin grammar positively correlated with the number of native Mandarin speakers at home. Within each language, phonological skills were predicted by vocabulary, while vocabulary and grammar were reciprocally predictive. Cross-language, cross-domain relationships were weak.<b>Conclusions: </b>This study shows domain-specific cross-language associations and language-specific cross-domain associations in Mandarin–English bilingual children, indicating both interdependent and autonomous development. Our findings call for approaches that value the child’s full linguistic repertoire and utilize interconnectedness between languages and language domains to enhance bi/multilingual competence. They also highlight the importance of assessing each of the child’s languages and considering individual bilingual profiles in research on bilingual language development.<b>Supplemental Material S1. </b>List of target words and target consonants in the Mandarin Articulation Test (MAT).<b>Supplemental Material S2.</b> Consonant substitutions reflecting Singaporean Mandarin features (Chua, 2003; En et al., 2014) observed in Mandarin–English bilingual preschool children’s Mandarin in the current study.<b>Supplemental Material S3. </b>Phonological processes associated with Singapore English (SgE) dialect features (En et al., 2014) observed in Mandarin–English bilingual preschool children’s English in the current study.<b>Supplemental Material S4. </b>Grammatical structures examined in the Mandarin Receptive Grammar Test (MRGT), with English as a comparison.<b>Supplemental Material S5. </b>Percentage of Mandarin–English bilingual children (<i>N</i> = 63) producing accurate articulation of individual consonants in the Mandarin Articulation Test (MAT).<b>Supplemental Material S6.</b> Accuracy rates of structures tested in the Mandarin Receptive Grammar Test (MRGT) among 63 Mandarin–English bilingual children, categorized by grammatical construction type.<b>Supplemental Material S7. </b>Linear regression results for English articulation scores in 63 Mandarin–English bilingual children.<b>Supplemental Material S8. </b>Linear regression results for Mandarin articulation in 63 Mandarin–English bilingual children.<b>Supplemental Material S9. </b>Linear regression results for English receptive vocabulary in 63 Mandarin–English bilingual children.<b>Supplemental Material S10.</b> Linear regression results for Mandarin receptive vocabulary in 63 Mandarin–English bilingual children.<b>Supplemental Material S11.</b> Linear regression results for English receptive grammar in 63 Mandarin–English bilingual children.<b>Supplemental Material S12.</b> Linear regression results for Mandarin receptive grammar in 63 Mandarin–English bilingual children.Zhou, J., Mai, Z., Lau, E., Lum, C., Thian, A. L., &amp; Yip, V. (2025). Cross- and within-language associations between phonological, lexical, and grammatical domains in Mandarin–English bilingual preschoolers in Singapore. <i>Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research</i>, <i>68</i>(2), 636–653. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00310