Analysing Child Language Data

The ability to analyse child language data — typically transcripts of children's speech or samples of children's writing — is a core skill for AQA A-Level English Language. This lesson provides a systematic approach to analysing CLA data, with guidance on how to identify key features, link them to theories, and write effective analytical responses in examinations.

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How CLA Data Appears in Exams

In the AQA A-Level English Language exam (Paper 1, Section A: Language, the Individual and Society), you may encounter:

• Transcripts of children's speech — conversations between a child and a caregiver, or between children
• Samples of children's writing — handwritten or typed texts produced by children at various stages of development
• A combination — for example, a transcript alongside a piece of writing from the same child or from children of different ages

The question will typically ask you to analyse the data, identifying features of the child's language and explaining what they reveal about the child's linguistic development. You will be expected to:

1. Identify specific features of the child's language
2. Use appropriate linguistic terminology
3. Link features to stages of development
4. Connect your analysis to relevant theories and research
5. Write in a coherent, analytical style

Key Definition: Language data analysis — the systematic examination of language samples (spoken or written) to identify linguistic features and patterns, and to explain what they reveal about the speaker's or writer's linguistic competence and developmental stage.

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A Systematic Approach: The Language Levels Framework

The most effective way to analyse child language data is to work systematically through the language levels, identifying relevant features at each level:

Language Level	What to Look For	Key Terminology
Phonology	Phonological processes (deletion, substitution, assimilation, reduplication); fis phenomenon; prosody; intonation	Fronting, stopping, gliding, consonant cluster reduction, final consonant deletion, assimilation
Lexis/Semantics	Vocabulary range; overextension; underextension; concrete vs abstract words; first word categories (Nelson)	Holophrase, overextension, underextension, naming insight, fast mapping, hypernym, hyponym
Grammar (morphology)	Inflectional morphemes (plurals, past tense, progressive -ing, possessive); overgeneralisation; Brown's stages	Overgeneralisation, virtuous error, MLU, inflection, regular/irregular forms
Grammar (syntax)	Sentence structure; word order; negatives (Bellugi stages); questions (Bellugi stages); complex sentences; coordination; subordination	Telegraphic speech, pivot grammar, SVO, subject-verb inversion, subordinate clause, coordination
Pragmatics	Turn-taking; topic management; Halliday's functions; speech acts (Dore); politeness; repair; deixis	Instrumental, regulatory, interactional, heuristic, imaginative, representational, deictic
Discourse	Narrative structure; cohesion; coherence; text organisation (for writing data)	Cohesion, coherence, temporal connectives, anaphoric reference
Graphology (writing only)	Letter formation; spelling strategies; punctuation; layout	Invented spelling, emergent writing, grapheme-phoneme correspondence

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Step-by-Step Analysis Method

Step 1: Read the Data Carefully

• Read the entire transcript or writing sample at least twice before you start writing
• Note the child's age (if given) — this helps you predict what developmental stage they should be at
• Note the context — who is the child talking to? What are they doing? What is the purpose of the writing?

Step 2: Identify the Child's Developmental Stage

Based on the features you observe, estimate the child's developmental stage:

Age (approx.)	Expected Stage (Speaking)	Expected Stage (Writing)
12–18 months	Holophrastic stage (one-word utterances)	Pre-writing (scribbling)
18–24 months	Two-word stage; telegraphic speech	Mark-making
24–36 months	Multi-word utterances; Brown's Stage II–III; emerging grammar	Mock writing/letters
36–48 months	Complex sentences emerging; Brown's Stage III–IV; questions and negatives developing	Letter formation; invented spelling
48–60 months	Brown's Stage IV–V; most grammatical structures acquired; narratives developing	Conventional writing emerging; Kroll's consolidation stage
5–7 years	Near-adult grammar; developing pragmatic sophistication	Kroll's consolidation/differentiation; Rothery's recount and narrative
7+ years	Refined pragmatic skills; metalinguistic awareness	Kroll's differentiation/integration; genre awareness

Step 3: Analyse Systematically by Language Level

Work through each language level, identifying specific features and quoting directly from the data. For each feature:

1. Identify the feature with an appropriate label
2. Quote the relevant example from the data
3. Explain what it reveals about the child's development
4. Link to a relevant theory, researcher, or stage

Step 4: Link to Theories

Always connect your observations to relevant theories and research. Here is a guide to which theories are most relevant for different features:

Feature Observed	Relevant Theory/Researcher
Overgeneralisation (e.g. "goed", "mouses")	Nativist (Chomsky) — child is applying rules, not imitating; also Berko's wug test
Child imitating caregiver's language	Behaviourist (Skinner) — imitation and reinforcement
Caregiver using expansions, recasts, CDS	Social interactionist (Bruner — LASS, scaffolding; Snow — CDS)
Language linked to cognitive level	Cognitive (Piaget) — language reflects cognitive development
Halliday's functions observed	Halliday (1975) — functions of language
Phonological processes	Ingram (1976) — phonological process analysis; also Berko and Brown (fis phenomenon)
Turn-taking and interaction patterns	Bruner (1983) — formats and routines; Snow (1977) — proto-conversations
First word categories	Nelson (1973) — first word categories; noun bias
Overextension/underextension	Rescorla (1980); Eve Clark (1973) — semantic feature theory; Aitchison (1987) — labelling, packaging, network building
Stages of negative/question acquisition	Bellugi (1967, 1971) — stages of negation and interrogative development
MLU and morpheme acquisition	Brown (1973) — stages of morphological development
Writing features	Kroll (1981) — stages; Barclay (1996) — stages; Rothery (1984) — genre categories

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Common Features to Look For