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The Role of Cognates and Language Distance in Simultaneous Bilingual Children's Productive Vocabulary Acquisition

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Title: The Role of Cognates and Language Distance in Simultaneous Bilingual Children's Productive Vocabulary Acquisition
Language: English
Authors: Elly Koutamanis (ORCID 0000-0003-3422-9121), Gerrit Jan Kootstra, Ton Dijkstra (ORCID 0000-0003-2514-5866), Sharon Unsworth
Source: Language Learning. 2025 75(2):347-378.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 32
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Child Language, Language Acquisition, Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, Bilingual Students, Children, Contrastive Linguistics, Language Role, Vocabulary, Language Tests, Phonology, Translation, Scores, Second Language Learning, Language Classification, Language Proficiency
DOI: 10.1111/lang.12666
ISSN: 0023-8333
1467-9922
Abstract: This study examined the influence of cognate status and language distance on simultaneous bilingual children's vocabulary acquisition. It aimed to tease apart effects of word-level similarities and language-level similarities, while also exploring the role of individual-level variation in age, exposure, and nontarget language proficiency. Children simultaneously acquiring two closely related languages (n = 203) or two more distant languages (n = 109) performed extended versions of the LITMUS Cross-Linguistic Lexical Task (Haman et al., 2015), a productive vocabulary test with words varying in their phonological similarity to their translation equivalents. Children speaking closely related languages obtained higher vocabulary scores than children speaking more distant languages, who showed a stronger positive effect of phonological similarity. The effect of language distance on vocabulary was not solely driven by the presence of (near-)identical cognates in the test. These findings show that similarities beyond specific test items and/or beyond the phonological level play a role in vocabulary acquisition.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: https://osf.io/kx6zp
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1469848
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: The Role of Cognates and Language Distance in Simultaneous Bilingual Children's Productive Vocabulary Acquisition
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Elly+Koutamanis%22">Elly Koutamanis</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3422-9121">0000-0003-3422-9121</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gerrit+Jan+Kootstra%22">Gerrit Jan Kootstra</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ton+Dijkstra%22">Ton Dijkstra</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2514-5866">0000-0003-2514-5866</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sharon+Unsworth%22">Sharon Unsworth</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Language+Learning%22"><i>Language Learning</i></searchLink>. 2025 75(2):347-378.
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: Y
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  Data: 32
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+Language%22">Child Language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Acquisition%22">Language Acquisition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bilingual+Education%22">Bilingual Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bilingualism%22">Bilingualism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bilingual+Students%22">Bilingual Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Contrastive+Linguistics%22">Contrastive Linguistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Role%22">Language Role</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vocabulary%22">Vocabulary</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Tests%22">Language Tests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonology%22">Phonology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Translation%22">Translation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scores%22">Scores</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+Language+Learning%22">Second Language Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Classification%22">Language Classification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Proficiency%22">Language Proficiency</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
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  Data: 10.1111/lang.12666
– Name: ISSN
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  Data: 0023-8333<br />1467-9922
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This study examined the influence of cognate status and language distance on simultaneous bilingual children's vocabulary acquisition. It aimed to tease apart effects of word-level similarities and language-level similarities, while also exploring the role of individual-level variation in age, exposure, and nontarget language proficiency. Children simultaneously acquiring two closely related languages (n = 203) or two more distant languages (n = 109) performed extended versions of the LITMUS Cross-Linguistic Lexical Task (Haman et al., 2015), a productive vocabulary test with words varying in their phonological similarity to their translation equivalents. Children speaking closely related languages obtained higher vocabulary scores than children speaking more distant languages, who showed a stronger positive effect of phonological similarity. The effect of language distance on vocabulary was not solely driven by the presence of (near-)identical cognates in the test. These findings show that similarities beyond specific test items and/or beyond the phonological level play a role in vocabulary acquisition.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
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  Data: As Provided
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  Data: https://osf.io/kx6zp
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  Data: 2025
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      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
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        PageCount: 32
        StartPage: 347
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Child Language
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Acquisition
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      – SubjectFull: Bilingual Education
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      – SubjectFull: Vocabulary
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      – SubjectFull: Language Classification
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      – SubjectFull: Language Proficiency
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      – TitleFull: The Role of Cognates and Language Distance in Simultaneous Bilingual Children's Productive Vocabulary Acquisition
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