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Systematic Reexamination of Early Verb Dominance: Verbal and Nonverbal Characteristics of Caregiver Input and Their Contribution to Long-Term Language Outcomes

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Title: Systematic Reexamination of Early Verb Dominance: Verbal and Nonverbal Characteristics of Caregiver Input and Their Contribution to Long-Term Language Outcomes
Language: English
Authors: Minju Kim (ORCID 0000-0001-5878-7350), Jeonghee Mun (ORCID 0009-0000-1801-3668), Gayoung Kim (ORCID 0000-0001-9843-8606), Solyeon Jeon, Youngon Choi (ORCID 0000-0002-0698-1511)
Source: Developmental Psychology. 2026 62(5):1067-1083.
Availability: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Toddlers, Language Acquisition, Korean, Vocabulary Development, Verbs, Nonverbal Communication, Verbal Communication, Linguistic Input, Nouns, Word Frequency, Mothers, Parent Child Relationship, Parent Influence
Geographic Terms: South Korea (Seoul)
DOI: 10.1037/dev0002089
ISSN: 0012-1649
1939-0599
Abstract: Early language input to infants varies in lexical composition across languages and contexts. For instance, American-English input emphasizes nouns more than verbs, while Mandarin Chinese and Korean inputs provide more verbs than nouns, the difference of which is considered an influential factor in the child's early vocabulary acquisition. Furthermore, a possibility was raised that nonverbal input accompanying child-directed language provides additional support for verb meanings in verb-dominant caregiver input. However, these early verb dominance and support patterns have been derived from a handful of studies that examined very small samples. Thus, we aimed to systematically reexamine the verb dominance pattern in Korean caregiver input, considering both verbal and nonverbal aspects and their relative contributions to long-term vocabulary outcomes using a larger longitudinal sample. From 70 caregiver inputs to their 14- to 20-month-olds (41,349 utterances; 2,186 min, 30 s total), we found that the Korean language supports verb learning through lexical distribution and nonverbal extralinguistic input quality. Both the noun representation ratio and verb proportion positively predicted 54-month vocabulary outcomes, indicating that overall frequency is crucial for long-term vocabulary growth. Differences in caregiver nonverbal input quality between nouns and verbs explained 36-month vocabulary outcomes but did not predict long-term growth. These findings suggest that verbal and nonverbal inputs play different roles in long-term language development and that these might explain why Korean infants demonstrate better comprehension for verbs than nouns early on.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1503641
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Systematic Reexamination of Early Verb Dominance: Verbal and Nonverbal Characteristics of Caregiver Input and Their Contribution to Long-Term Language Outcomes
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Minju+Kim%22">Minju Kim</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5878-7350">0000-0001-5878-7350</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jeonghee+Mun%22">Jeonghee Mun</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1801-3668">0009-0000-1801-3668</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gayoung+Kim%22">Gayoung Kim</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9843-8606">0000-0001-9843-8606</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Solyeon+Jeon%22">Solyeon Jeon</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Youngon+Choi%22">Youngon Choi</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0698-1511">0000-0002-0698-1511</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Developmental+Psychology%22"><i>Developmental Psychology</i></searchLink>. 2026 62(5):1067-1083.
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  Data: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
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  Data: 17
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Toddlers%22">Toddlers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Acquisition%22">Language Acquisition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Korean%22">Korean</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vocabulary+Development%22">Vocabulary Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Verbs%22">Verbs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nonverbal+Communication%22">Nonverbal Communication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Verbal+Communication%22">Verbal Communication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Linguistic+Input%22">Linguistic Input</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nouns%22">Nouns</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Word+Frequency%22">Word Frequency</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mothers%22">Mothers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+Child+Relationship%22">Parent Child Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+Influence%22">Parent Influence</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22South+Korea+%28Seoul%29%22">South Korea (Seoul)</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1037/dev0002089
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
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  Data: 0012-1649<br />1939-0599
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Early language input to infants varies in lexical composition across languages and contexts. For instance, American-English input emphasizes nouns more than verbs, while Mandarin Chinese and Korean inputs provide more verbs than nouns, the difference of which is considered an influential factor in the child's early vocabulary acquisition. Furthermore, a possibility was raised that nonverbal input accompanying child-directed language provides additional support for verb meanings in verb-dominant caregiver input. However, these early verb dominance and support patterns have been derived from a handful of studies that examined very small samples. Thus, we aimed to systematically reexamine the verb dominance pattern in Korean caregiver input, considering both verbal and nonverbal aspects and their relative contributions to long-term vocabulary outcomes using a larger longitudinal sample. From 70 caregiver inputs to their 14- to 20-month-olds (41,349 utterances; 2,186 min, 30 s total), we found that the Korean language supports verb learning through lexical distribution and nonverbal extralinguistic input quality. Both the noun representation ratio and verb proportion positively predicted 54-month vocabulary outcomes, indicating that overall frequency is crucial for long-term vocabulary growth. Differences in caregiver nonverbal input quality between nouns and verbs explained 36-month vocabulary outcomes but did not predict long-term growth. These findings suggest that verbal and nonverbal inputs play different roles in long-term language development and that these might explain why Korean infants demonstrate better comprehension for verbs than nouns early on.
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: EJ1503641
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        Value: 10.1037/dev0002089
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 17
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Toddlers
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      – SubjectFull: Language Acquisition
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      – SubjectFull: Korean
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      – SubjectFull: Vocabulary Development
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      – SubjectFull: Verbs
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      – SubjectFull: Parent Influence
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      – SubjectFull: South Korea (Seoul)
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      – TitleFull: Systematic Reexamination of Early Verb Dominance: Verbal and Nonverbal Characteristics of Caregiver Input and Their Contribution to Long-Term Language Outcomes
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              Y: 2026
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