The Child Language Development Node is excited to announce that Prof Pernille Hansen will be our third guest speaker at our Child Language Africa Seminar Series (CLASS), which will be held on the 27th of May 2026 from 13:00 - 14:00 on Microsoft Teams (Please see the meeting link below)
Swipe above for the abstract and more information!
Meeting link: /l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NTRlOGRkNjEtMWZiOS00MTMzLWIzODItMDRmZmE0ZWJkYmMy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22a6fa3b03-0a3c-4258-8433-a120dffcd348%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2217c1e7cf-f7e9-446e-b83d-af238bf9147c%22%7d
The 100 common first words in Afrikaansđ
Which words from this list has your child started saying?
In March, we shared these 100 words grouped into their semantic categories. If you missed that post, head over to our page!
Also check out the isiXhosa version!đ
Behind every first word, every story and every little conversation is someone who listened with love. Happy Motherâs Day to all the moms and caregivers shaping language and connection every dayđŠˇ
We would also like to extend a special word of thanks to our colleagues at the @nithecs for participating in our video!
The 100 common first words in isiXhosađŠľ
Which words from this list has your child started saying?
In March, we shared these 100 words grouped into their semantic categories. If you missed that post, head over to our pageđ
YARN Workshopâď¸
Two of our colleagues, Atshilaho Viola Nethathe and Carmen Defty, presented at the inaugural workshop of the Young Africanistsâ Research Network (YARN) on 20 March 2026.
Violaâs presentation was centered on her masterâs research on the early acquisition of Tshivenda noun classes, while Carmen presented on the adaptation process of the SA-CDI.
Swipe to see their thoughts on the experienceđ
In celebration of World Book Day and International Children's Book Day earlier this month, our word of the month is "Boekwurm"!đ
"Bookworm" in Afrikaans.
#bookstagram
#bookworm
#childlanguagedevelopment
ARTICLE OF THE MONTHđ
This monthâs article was written by two of our colleagues, Professor Frenette Southwood and Carmen Defty. It explores the differences and similarities in child-directed speech (CDS) between rural and urban Afrikaans-speaking homes.
Swipe for more info.
Please see the link to the article below:
/10.1111/infa.70079
đ Bath time with your little one doesnât have to be boring, it can be a great opportunity to build their language skills through everyday interactions đŹ
#childlanguage #childlanguage acquisition
Meet one of our fieldworkers: Onakho Dada!
She is a data collector for the isiXhosa CDI Project and we asked her some questions about her experience.
Swipe to see what she has to say!
#datacollection #southafricanresearch #languagedevelopment #languageresearch
Parents needed for a study on child language development!đˇ
We are busy developing a questionnaire that will allow us to collect information about the language development of young children. There are currently no questionnaires or other instruments that can indicate whether an Afrikaans-speaking infant or toddler's language development is on track. Our research is working to establish these developmental norms.
You can be part of this development by completing our questionnaire anonymously online.
Link to receive the questionnaire: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Azv6pjwKWEKEM6Eg3_zTSIoD_sTVdCNGuB6lZZ295MVUMzZKMEFMRUxMV1E0MlNLREJVV0o3WVBFMy4u
#cdi #childlanguagedevelopment #afrikaans
In March, we spent a week in the Eastern Cape training our incredible fieldworkers for our isiXhosa rural norming study â building skills, sharing knowledge, and laying the groundwork for meaningful data collection đ¤đ
