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The proceedings contain 49 papers. The topics discussed include: generating one-time passwords by cheap and fast devices; profiling sets for preference querying; relational classification based on emerging patterns; distributed discovery of multi-level approximate process patterns; semantic annotation for web service processes; using PageRank in feature selection; generalized association rules to support network digest analysis; an intelligent assistant for medical knowledge discovery; service-oriented semantic collaboration in distributed information systems; a fuzzy description logic approach to bilateral matchmaking in electronic marketplaces; strategic index analysis through semantic web technologies; efficiently computing iceberg cubes: a probabilistic approach; and numerical data co-clustering via sum-squared residue minimization and user-defined constraint satisfaction.

The present study examines narrative competence and its relationships with syntactic and prosodic skills in preschool children. The narrative skills of 30 typically developing Italian children were assessed during their first year of kindergarten attendance (T1) and again one year later (T2). A picture book was used to elicit children's narratives. All stories were examined for narrative competence, syntactic complexity and prosody. The results are discussed in the context of the relationships between prosody and the other linguistic skills, considering that the children who were more proficient storytellers and exhibited better syntactic construction were generally less able to produce their utterances within a single melodic contour. Therefore, the linguistic and cognitive abilities required by a storytelling task may negatively influence a child's ability to produce sentences within a single melodic contour.

Background: Because of their difficulties in language development, various studies have focussed on the precursors of linguistic skills in children with Down syndrome. However, data on the predictive role of joint attention on language development in this population are inconsistent. The present study aimed to analyse attention behaviours in a group of children with Down syndrome. The existence of both concurrent and longitudinal relationships between joint attention and vocabulary development was investigated. Method: The participants were 18, 24-month-old, Italian children with Down syndrome. The children's attention skills were assessed during semi-structured free-play sessions in interaction with their mothers. A nominal exhaustive scheme was applied to code the children's behaviour. Moreover, the children's vocabulary development (both receptive and expressive) was assessed with the Italian version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory at both 24 and 30 months. Results: Data analyses showed that children with Down syndrome spent a large part of the interactive play session in joint attention situations. Moreover, the children's behaviour of proposing a joint attention focus to their communicative partners appeared to be a significant predictor of the children's vocabulary comprehension skills as assessed 6 months later. Conclusions: These results support the hypothesis of continuity between preverbal precursors and vocabulary development in a population with atypical development.

This study aimed to assess the communicative skills of children and young adults with ring 14 syndrome and linear 14q deletions, investigating the relationships among their language development and their genetic, clinical, psychomotor and behavioural characteristics. Participants were 36 individuals with chromosome 14 aberrations whose parents completed a questionnaire, specifically developed in five languages, to assess their son’s/daughter’s development. Data analysis showed that chronological age does not account for the high individual variability found in the participants’ skills. The comparison between participants with ring 14 syndrome and participants with 14q linear deletions showed that the former were characterised by a higher occurrence of epilepsy, abnormalities of the retina and autism. The participants with smaller amounts of deleted genetic material were those who had a higher level of language development. Because ring 14 syndrome is a rare genetic disease, the collection of data from a large group of individuals could be helpful to create expectations about the possible developmental outcomes of these children.

Several studies in the literature have analyzed language development in children with Down syndrome because their language development delays have been reported to be greater than their cognitive level would suggest (Abbeduto, Warren & Conners, 2007). However, the prosodic characteristics of their language have been minimally investigated (Stojanovik, 2011). The present study aimed to analyze the prosodic skills of children with Down syndrome during a specific developmental stage: the transition between the production of single-word utterances and first sentences. The relationships among linguistic areas were investigated to identify the developmental patterns of language acquisition in this population. The participants were 9 children with Down syndrome who ranged in chronological age from 45 to 63 months and had a vocabulary of approximately 500 words. The children’s spontaneous productions were recorded during observations of play sessions, transcribed and coded in terms of syntactic complexity. Data analyses showed that both lexical and morphological skills were related to the children’s ability to produce multiword utterances. In addition, better prosodic competence was related both to the children’s chronological age and to their ability to produce complex utterances

Background. Research findings on vocabulary development in children with Down syndrome are inconsistent. This study aimed to analyse the developmental trend of vocabulary growth in children with Down syndrome and the relationships between vocabulary and chronological and developmental age. Method. Children’s vocabulary size was assessed by a parental report (the Italian version of the MacArthur-Bates CDI). A longitudinal study, involving 18 children with Down syndrome, and a cross-sectional study, involving 27 children with Down syndrome, were conducted. Results. The variability in children’s vocabulary size increased from a chronological age of 36 months. Both vocabulary size (from 36 months) and developmental level (from 42 months) were significant predictors of lexical outcomes at 48 months. A comparison with normative data showed that children with Down syndrome had a significantly lower vocabulary size than typically developing children at the same developmental age. Conclusions. Although there are similarities with vocabulary growth in typically developing children, lexical development in children with Down syndrome appears to lag behind their cognitive development.

Both sequential reasoning skills and listening text comprehension are complex abilities that have their major development stages during the preschool period. Theoretically, an association between these skills could have its origins in the script construct: the knowledge of how events develop in real life could lead to a better comprehension of temporal and causal relationships. This study addressed the existence of a specific association between children’s performance on a listening comprehension test and their performance on a picture arrangement task that was specifically developed for this project. The participants were 110 preschool children ranging in age from 3 to 6 years. The results show that children’s listening text comprehension ability is mainly explained by their lexical comprehension, but at 3 years of age, their competence in correctly arranging events in a sequential order plays a significant role in explaining children’s comprehension of textual information.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate relationships between early production of gesture, gesture-plus-word combinations and transitional forms on successive lexical and syntactic skills. Twenty-four children interacting with their mothers were observed. We found that complementary gesture-plus-word combinations and transitional forms use at 18 months were related with lexical skill and MLU - but not with utterance complexity - at 24 months; supplementary gesture-plus-word combinations use at 18 months, instead, was related with utterance complexity, but not with lexical skill and MLU. These relationships are explained in terms of increasing communicative competence in the child and also in terms of the adult's contribution to linguistic development. © 2012 John Benjamins Publishing Company

In the present study, the lexical and structural characteristics of the maternal input addressed to 24-month-old children with Down syndrome were compared to the input addressed to two groups of typically developing children; matched for chronological age (CA Group) and lexical skills (Vocabulary Group), respectively. The aim of the present study was to verify whether the characteristics of the language addressed to children with Down syndrome are oversimplified, as found in previous studies, or if they are appropriate for the children’s developmental level. Data analyses show that the lexicon directed toward these children is simpler than that addressed to both of the control groups in terms of vocabulary composition (fewer function words and more onomatopoeic-words/routines) and simpler than that addressed to the CA Group in terms of lexical variability. However, in terms of syntactic complexity, the input is mid-way between the two control groups. In addition, the analysis of maternal imitative utterances shows that the children with Down syndrome receive a lower proportion of imitative utterances than could be expected based on their age.

Attualmente non sono disponibili dei dati di riferimento sullo sviluppo del vocabolario nei bambini con sindrome di Down di lingua italiana. Essendo stata verificata la validità dell’utilizzo del Primo Vocabolario del Bambino (Caselli e Casadio, 1995) (versione italiana del questionario MacArthur-Bates) all’interno di questa popolazione, il presente studio ha lo scopo di valutare la produzione di parole e le relazioni che intercorrono fra questa e le età cronologica e di sviluppo in tale popolazione tramite l’utilizzo di questo strumento. Complessivamente 152 questionari sono stati somministrati ai genitori di bambini con sindrome di Down di età compresa fra 2 e 5 anni. La produzione di parole risulta essere correlata con l’età di sviluppo, ma non con quella cronologica. Inoltre, dal confronto con quanto rilevato nei bambini con sviluppo tipico, lo sviluppo lessicale risulta essere maggiormente rallentato rispetto al loro sviluppo cognitivo., Normative data on vocabulary size of Italian children with Down syndrome are not available at the present time. The principal aim of this study is to assess word production and its relationships with chronological and developmental age in this population, using Il Primo Vocabolario del Bambino (Caselli and Casadio, 1995) (i.e., the Italian version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories) whose validity in this population has been already demonstrated. An amount of 152 questionnaires has been collected from parents of children with Down syndrome aged two to five years. Word production appears to be correlated to developmental age but not to chronological age. Moreover, in comparison with typically developing children, lexical development seems to lag behind their cognitive development.

The present study investigates the appearance of certain phonetic, phonological, and prosodic aspects of Italian in the early language of native speakers; a longitudinal analysis of babbling and word production in 11 Italian children ranging in age from 0; 10 to 2; 0 is reported. It focuses in particular on the syllabic frequency of babbling utterances and the distribution of consonant sounds in relation to their place of articulation in babbling and first words. It analyzes also the role of phonotactic characteristics and accentual patterns of word targets in production correctness and word shape constraints. Results show that the relationships with the frequency characteristics of the Italian lexicon become increasingly evident in language production from age 0;11 on. The data also provide substantiation for the role of phonotactic characteristics and accentual patterns in influencing correct word production. Finally, a continuity between babbling and words emerged from an analysis of individual differences. The discussion focuses on the role of ambient characteristics of language versus universal articulatory constraints in early phonological development

The present study aimed to describe language development in children with Down syndrome, focussing on the relationships between gestural and vocal communication. The individual developmental trajectories of gesture production and its predictive role on later language development were analysed in a group of children with Down syndrome. Eight two-year-old children were followed for a two-year period until they reached the age of four years old. With regards to the developmental trends, two distinct patterns were found. Some children showed an increasing profile of gesture production, whereas others showed an inverted U-shaped profile or a stable production of gestures. Only the children in the second group showed a remarkable growth in their lexical abilities. Moreover, gesture production was identified as a reliable predictor of later vocabulary size when children were both 24 and 36 months old, and the production of crossmodal transitional forms (i.e., gesture-word associations) appeared to be a significant predictive index of their later two-word production.

This study investigates from a developmental point of view the lexical, morphological, and syntactic characteristics of verb production during the first stages of language acquisition. The spontaneous productions of children with different mean length of utterance (MLU) were analysed, examining the relative production of different types of verbs (transitive, intransitive, and mixed), the arguments expressed or omitted in the utterances containing a verb, the morphological inflections produced by the children for each verb, and the generalisation of the syntactic construction with which specific verbs were produced. Data are interpreted in support of the hypothesis that children have a limited abstract knowledge of verbs in the early period of multiword utterance production and that the process of abstractness and generalisation develops gradually on the basis of linguistic experience.

This study analysed the early linguistic development of Italian pre-term children. Samples of spontaneous pre-linguistic and verbal production were recorded at 12 and 18 months of age from two groups of children: 24 pre-term children and 15 full-term children. The Italian version of the MacArthur-Bates Questionnaire was administered at 24 months of age. Comparisons between these two groups reveal differences in many aspects of phonetic and phonological development, such as consonantal inventory at 12 and 18 months of age and syllabic babbling complexity at 18 months of age. Results evidenced that birth weight was related with phonological skills exhibited at 18 months of age, and these skills in turn are related with vocabulary size at 24 months of age. Data are discussed within a theoretical framework that hypothesizes that early phonetic abilities have long-lasting effects on the process of language acquisition. © 2010 Informa UK, Ltd.

Background: Although children with Down’s syndrome show some delays in each area of language development, their morphosyntactic competence appears to be more severely compromised than their lexical skills and, therefore, they are frequently mentioned as an example of dissociation between grammar and lexicon. Aims: The principal aim of the present study was to compare the lexical and syntactic development of Italian children with Down’s syndrome with that of typically developing children, considering their spontaneous production. Particular attention was given to the relationships between these linguistic areas and the transition from single-word utterances to multiword combinations (that is, transitional forms). Methods & Procedures: Twenty-four children participated in the study: twelve with Down’s syndrome and twelve typically developing children. On average, the children with Down’s syndrome participating in the study had a vocabulary size of about 450 words; and their mean chronological age was 54 months, whereas their mean developmental age was 30 months. The criteria for inclusion in the typically developing children group were a mean vocabulary size similar to that of the participants with Down’s syndrome and a mean chronological age equivalent to the mean developmental age of the children with Down’s syndrome. Each child’s spontaneous verbal production was assessed during a parent–child play session. Data analyses focused on both lexical variables (type and tokens, vocabulary composition) and syntactic variables (frequency and types of transitional forms, frequency of utterances with different degree of complexity, and argument structure of verbs). Outcomes & Results: The vocabulary composition of the children with Down’s syndrome appeared to be simpler than that of the typically developing children at the same lexical size. Children with Down’s syndrome used a higher number of transitional forms, but their production of multi-word utterances was less freque

The objective of this study is to evaluate language outcome in pre-term children, considering multiple factors. The hypothesis is that early communicative capacity (preverbal communicative utterances) are affected mainly by biological (prematurity, birth weight and gender) and social factors (maternal education), while more advanced linguistic abilities (i.e. combinatorial and syntactic abilities) are mostly influenced by previously acquired communicative abilities. Eighteen monolingual Italian pre-term children (birth weight between 750 and 1600 gr, gestational age ≤ 37 weeks; 13 males and 5 females) were compared with a control group of eighteen age-matched full-term children (8 males 10 females). The longitudinal design comprised motor and cognitive assessment at 14 and 36 months, and communicative evaluation by direct observation at 14, 24, 30 and 36 months, and by indirect observation at 24 and 30 months. Main results evidenced: delayed development in pre-term compared to full-term children, particularly after 24 months of age; intra-individual differences in the pre-term group; a strong effect of prematurity on communicative ability at 14 and 24 months; however, more advanced communicative developmental stages are influenced both by prematurity and by previously acquired linguistic skills.

The purpose of this study was to investigate, in a group of Italian children, the development of the capacity to use prosodic features to mark different syntactic organizations of multi-word utterances, during the first phase of syntactic acquisition. The focus is on the prosodic realizations of multi-word utterances in which children begin to use the argument structure of verbs (vocabulary size > 400 words, MLU range 1.3 - 3.0). Results showed that non-canonical order is not marked by specific type of intonation contours, and does not show specific values of duration, maximum and minimum FO, or key.

In the literature, contrasting data have been reported both on the existence of a preference for the use of gestural rather than vocal productions (Iverson, Longobardi and Caselli, 2003) and on the predictive role of gestures on lexical development (Yoder and Warren, 2004) in children with Down syndrome [DS]. The primary aims of the present study are to analyze the relationships between gestural production and developmental and linguistic age in children with DS and to verify the validity of gesture production as a predictive index on their subsequent vocabulary development with a longitudinal design. Seventeen 36-month-old Italian children with DS participated in the study. Each child’s spontaneous gestural production was evaluated during a mother-child play session; their psychomotor development was assessed using the Brunet-Lézine Scale of Infant Development and their vocabulary size was assessed using the Italian version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory. Parents were requested to complete the inventory at both six months and one year after the first assessment. Data analyses on the concurrent relationships between gesture production, Brunet-Lézine scores and vocabulary sizes showed that the use of gestures in children with DS was related both to psychomotor development and to word comprehension, but not to word production; these results appear to be similar to those previously identified in typically developing children. Moreover, as regards longitudinal relationships, gestural production at 36 months was significantly correlated to the subsequent lexical production, assessed at 42 and 48 months, though this relationship appeared to be mediated by word comprehension; therefore the production of gestures (in particular of deictic gestures) can be considered as a precursor of vocabulary development in children with DS too, as already demonstrated in children with typical development.

Background: Children with Down’s syndrome seem to show a preference for the use of gestural rather than vocal productions during the first stages of language development. This ‘gestural advantage’ could actually be due to a developmental strategy used to compensate the difficulties in verbal production that are typical of language development in this population. Aims: The principal aim of the present study is to analyse the relationships between gesture production and vocabulary development in children with Down’s syndrome, verifying the existence of any similarities with the processes that characterize typical development. Methods & Procedures: Twenty 36-month-old Italian children with Down’s syndrome participated in the study. Each child’s spontaneous gestural and vocal production was assessed during a mother-and-child play session. Their psychomotor development was evaluated using the Brunet–Lezine Scale of Infant Development; and their vocabulary size, with regards both production and comprehension, was assessed using the Italian version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (CDI). Following a longitudinal perspective, parents were requested to complete the inventory at 6 months after the first evaluation (i.e., at 42 months). Data analyses focused both on the concurrent relations of gesture production, vocabulary size and psychomotor development, and on the longitudinal relations between gesture production and subsequent vocabulary development. Outcomes & Results: As regards concurrent relationships, gesture production appeared to be related both to psychomotor development and to word comprehension, but not to word production. Nevertheless, as regards longitudinal relationships, gesture production at 36 months was significantly correlated to the subsequent vocabulary production, assessed at 42 months using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (CDI), though this relationship appeared to be mediated by word comprehension. Concl

The purpose of the present study is to study early vocal production in order to assess whether it is possible to individuate predictors of vocabulary development prior to the age point at which lexical delay is usually identified. Characteristics of babbling and first words in 12 Italian children with slow expressive development (Late Talkers - LT) are compared with those of 12 Typically Developing (TD) peers. The syllable structure and phonetic characteristics of babbling and first words produced by both groups of children at 20 months were analyzed during mother-child play sessions. The results indicate that phonetic complexity and number of consonantal types are lower in the LT group. The two groups also differed in their use of sound classes and their syllable structure. Overall, it can be said that LTs develop in a similar but slower rate than TDs, as opposed to having an atypical pattern of phonological development.