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Speech in Same- and Different-sex Twins 4 and 5 Years Old

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Catherine Garitte ,
Jean-Pierre Almodovar ,
Eliane Benjamin  and
Céline Canhao
Catherine Garitte*
Affiliation:
Université Paris-X, S.P.S.E., France. [email protected]
Jean-Pierre Almodovar
Affiliation:
Université Paris-X, S.P.S.E., France.
Eliane Benjamin
Affiliation:
Université Paris-X, S.P.S.E., France.
Céline Canhao
Affiliation:
Université Paris-X, S.P.S.E., France.
*
*Address for correspondence: Catherine Garitte, Université Paris-X, S.P.S.E., 200 avenue de la République, 92001 Nanterre Cedex, France.

Abstract

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The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the sex makeup of pairs of twins on language acquisition. Past research indicated that this variable plays a role in speech problems of twin children. The questions raised were whether being a boy or a girl and having a boy or girl co-twin affected linguistic performance. A language test was given to 30 pairs of boy-girl twins, 16 pairs of boy twins, and 16 pairs of girl twins whose average age was 4 years 8 months. Their test scores confirmed our hypotheses. The poorest performance was obtained by the boy twin pairs and the best performance, by either the girl twin pairs or the different-sex pairs. The results were interpreted in the light of findings on language learning differences between girls and boys, and also in terms of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development.

Type
Articles
Information
Twin Research and Human Genetics , Volume 5 , Issue 6 , 01 December 2002 , pp. 538 - 543
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2002