PURPOSE: To determine whether word class has any influence on the mean duration of silent pauses in the spoken narratives of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and in those with typical language development (TLD). METHODS: The study sample consisted of 60 children in the age range from 7 to 10 years: 20 with SLI; and 40 with TLD. Each child produced 15 narratives, each based on a set of four pictures (scenes) and each set of pictures being more complex than the last. The narratives were analyzed, and nouns, adjectives, verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and pronouns were identified. A computer program was used in order to determine the duration (in milliseconds) of the silent pauses preceding words of each class. RESULTS: In both groups, silent pauses were shortest before nouns and longest before conjunctions. For all word classes, the mean duration of silent pauses was longer in the SLI group than in the TLD group. CONCLUSION: Word class influences the duration of silent pauses, which are shorter before nouns and longer before conjunctions. Children with SLI produce longer silent pauses, possibly because of their language processing difficulties.
Child language; Language development disorders; Narration; Speech, language and hearing sciences; Language development