Dethorne Laura S, Johnson Bonnie W, Loeb Jane W
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802-3100, USA.
Clin Linguist Phon. 2005 Dec;19(8):635-48. doi: 10.1080/02699200410001716165.
Despite the common use of mean length of utterance (MLU) as a diagnostic measure, what it actually reflects in terms of linguistic knowledge is relatively unclear. This study explored the extent to which variance in MLU could be accounted for by a measure of expressive vocabulary and a measure of morphosyntax in a group of 44 typically-developing children, ages 28-37 months. Regression techniques were employed to predict MLU from number of different words (NDW) and a tense accuracy composite (TAC). Depending on whether the variable was acting alone or in concert with the other, TAC accounted for 23% or none of the variance in MLU, while NDW accounted for 51% or 28%. We offer three potential explanations for the observed association between MLU and NDW, none of which necessarily precludes the others.
尽管平均语句长度（MLU）作为一种诊断指标被广泛使用，但它在语言知识方面实际反映的内容相对不明确。本研究探讨了在一组44名年龄在28至37个月的发育正常儿童中，表达性词汇量指标和形态句法指标能够在多大程度上解释MLU的差异。采用回归技术，根据不同单词数量（NDW）和时态准确性综合指标（TAC）来预测MLU。根据变量是单独起作用还是与另一个变量共同起作用，TAC分别解释了MLU差异的23%或未解释任何差异，而NDW分别解释了51%或28%。我们针对观察到的MLU与NDW之间的关联提出了三种可能的解释，其中任何一种解释都不一定排除其他解释。
