Expressive Verb Morphology Deficits in Arabic-Speaking Children With Developmental Language Disorder

Purpose This study investigated the production of tense and subject–verb agreement in Palestinian Arabic–speaking children with developmental language disorder (DLD) comparison to their typically developing (TD) peers terms (a) performance accuracy (b) error patterns. Method Participants were 14 DLD aged 4;0–7;10 32 TD 3;0–8;0 matched on nonverbal abilities. Children asked complete a picture-based verb elicitation task. The task was designed measure inflections Arabic. Results group scored significantly lower than less accurate marking tense, specifically present tense. They also general, specific difficulty using feminine forms. groups differed patterns, but not Conclusions acquisition morphology appears be delayed possibly different from peers. found marked forms more challenging ones. These results are discussed light structural characteristics Future studies would need include larger sample sizes; investigate other aspects morphology, including both comprehension; domains; consider longitudinal designs provide in-depth knowledge Arabic acquisition.