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Language Matters: Denying the Existence of the 30‐Million‐Word Gap Has Serious Consequences
Author(s) -
Golinkoff Roberta Michnick,
Hoff Erika,
Rowe Meredith L.,
TamisLeMonda Catherine S.,
HirshPasek Kathy
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13128
Subject(s) - psychology , linguistics , focus (optics) , language development , argument (complex analysis) , miller , quality (philosophy) , word (group theory) , developmental psychology , ecology , philosophy , biochemistry , physics , chemistry , epistemology , optics , biology
Sperry, Sperry, and Miller (2018) aim to debunk what is called the 30‐million‐word gap by claiming that children from lower income households hear more speech than Hart and Risley (1995) reported. We address why the 30‐million‐word gap should not be abandoned, and the importance of retaining focus on the vital ingredient to language learning—quality speech directed to children rather than overheard speech, the focus of Sperry et al.'s argument. Three issues are addressed: Whether there is a language gap; the characteristics of speech that promote language development; and the importance of language in school achievement. There are serious risks to claims that low‐income children, on average, hear sufficient, high‐quality language relative to peers from higher income homes.