The Development of Canonical Proportion as a Function of Community, Multilingualism, and Target Language’s Syllable Complexity
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study investigates the development of canonical proportion (CP), an indicator of speech development, across diverse language and environmental contexts. Using the Speech Maturity Dataset (SMD) comprising 366 children, aged 0;2-6;4, across 10 different languages and cultures, we explore the influence of multilingual exposure, language syllable complexity, and community type (industrialised, non-industrialised) on CP. We find that monolingual children display higher CP measures than their multilingual peers. In addition, CP is higher for children learning languages with simple syllable complexity than those with more complex syllables. We also find no significant differences in the CP trajectory of children from industrialised versus non-industrialised communities. Integrating these findings in the broader literature, we highlight the importance of diversifying participant samples to capture the complex relationship between language exposure, social environment, and language development.
Source: Journal of Child Language
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, École Normale Supérieure - PSL, Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, UNSW Sydney, University of Delaware, Purdue University West Lafayette, Université d'Orléans, University of South Carolina, University of California, Los Angeles, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Chicago, Harvard University, George Washington University
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,550
OpenAlex ID: W7130513947