What does a child’s insistence on "wed" despite the question about "red" indicate?

What does a child’s insistence on "wed" despite the question about "red" indicate?

• A. Phonological development lags behind semantics
• B. Performance lags behind competence
• C. Competence lags behind performance
• D. Semantic development is advanced

Answer: (B)

The child's insistence on saying "wed" instead of "red" suggests that they have acquired the correct semantic meaning of the color but struggle with the accurate articulation of the phonemes in the word. This scenario aligns with the idea that performance, which encompasses the child's ability to express what they know verbally, can lag behind their underlying language competence, which is their understanding of language concepts and meanings. In this case, the child understands that "red" is a color but is unable to produce it correctly due to difficulties with phonological output. This distinction illustrates that their cognitive knowledge of language (competence) is intact, but their practical application of that knowledge in speech (performance) reveals challenges in articulation. Thus, option B accurately captures the relationship between the child's knowledge and their verbal expression capabilities.

The child's insistence on saying "wed" instead of "red" suggests that they have acquired the correct semantic meaning of the color but struggle with the accurate articulation of the phonemes in the word. This scenario aligns with the idea that performance, which encompasses the child's ability to express what they know verbally, can lag behind their underlying language competence, which is their understanding of language concepts and meanings.

In this case, the child understands that "red" is a color but is unable to produce it correctly due to difficulties with phonological output. This distinction illustrates that their cognitive knowledge of language (competence) is intact, but their practical application of that knowledge in speech (performance) reveals challenges in articulation. Thus, option B accurately captures the relationship between the child's knowledge and their verbal expression capabilities.