Learning new words and, subsequently, a lexicon, is a time-extended process requiring encoding of word-referent pairs, retention of that information, and generalization to other exemplars of the category. Some children, however, fail in one or more of these processes resulting in language delays. The present study examines the abilities of children who vary in vocabulary size (including both children with normal language (NL) and late talking (LT) children) across multiple timescales/processes – known and novel word mapping, novel word retention, and novel noun generalization. Results indicate that children with lower language skills suffer from deficits in quick in-the-moment mapping of known words compared to their NL peers, but age and vocabulary size rather than normative vocabulary ranking or NL/LT status better predicts performance on retention and generalization processes. Implications for understanding language development as a holistic process with multiple interacting variables are discussed.

学习新词以及随后的词典是一个时间延长的过程，需要对词指代对进行编码、保留该信息以及泛化到该类别的其他范例。然而，有些孩子在这些过程中的一个或多个过程中失败，导致语言延迟。本研究检查了词汇量不同的儿童（包括语言正常 (NL) 儿童和说话晚 (LT) 儿童）跨越多个时间尺度/过程的能力——已知和新词映射、新词保留和新名词概括。结果表明，与 NL 同龄人相比，语言技能较低的儿童在快速即时映射已知单词方面存在缺陷，但年龄和词汇量而不是规范的词汇排名或 NL/LT 状态更能预测保留和泛化过程的表现。讨论了将语言发展理解为具有多个相互作用变量的整体过程的意义。