A validation study of the age-of-acquisition norms collected by Ghyselinck, De Moor, & Brysbaert

Abstract

Ghyselinck, De Moor & Brysbaert (2000) collected age-of-acquisition (AoA) norms for 2,816 Dutch four- and five-letter nouns based on student ratings. To assess the validity of these ratings, we presented a sample of the words to children from kindergarten and the last year primary school. Overall, the validity data are in agreement with the rating data, so that the Ghyselinck et al. measures can be used for further research on the effects of AoA. In addition, the rated AoA norms correlate with young children's actual spoken language use, as assessed on the basis of the CHILDES data base.