ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The development of culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to support communication interventions for underserved communities is an urgent necessity. The purpose of the study was to obtain stakeholder feedback on vocabulary items from a Sepedi core vocabulary list developed as a resource for vocabulary selection for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, and to expand the list based on stakeholders' vocabulary recommendations. METHOD: A questionnaire was used to obtain the ratings of 57 stakeholders regarding the importance of including 155 Sepedi words from the Sepedi core vocabulary list on an AAC system for a child with receptive language skills at the level of a 4-year-old or higher. Stakeholders also suggested additional words to include on the system. RESULT: All words were rated as important or very important. However, there was a statistically significant inverse relationship between the average frequency of occurrence of words belonging to a specific category and the average importance rating that stakeholders assigned to words in that category. A total of 48 words were additionally suggested by three or more stakeholders. CONCLUSION: Stakeholder ratings validated the list as relevant to consult in vocabulary selection for Sepedi AAC systems for children. Stakeholder-suggested words may be a useful supplement to this list.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: In order to provide equitable communication intervention and support services to clients from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, the development of language-specific resources for assessment and intervention is needed. The purpose of the study was to develop a core vocabulary list based on language samples from Sepedi-speaking children, in order to make it available as a resource to inform vocabulary selection for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for children in need of AAC from a Sepedi language background. METHOD: The speech of six typically developing Sepedi-speaking children aged 5-6 years was recorded using small body-worn audio recording devices. Children were recorded during their regular pre-school day. The recordings were transcribed, coded and analysed. RESULT: The composite transcript consisted of 17 579 words, of which 1023 were different words. The core vocabulary was determined by identifying all words that were used with a minimal frequency of 0.05%, and were used by at least half of the participants. The Sepedi core vocabulary consisted of 226 words that accounted for 88.1% of the composite sample. CONCLUSION: The core vocabulary determined in this study represents a small pool of reusable linguistic elements that form the grammatical framework of the Sepedi language. As such, is a valuable resource that can be used to assist with vocabulary selection for children who require AAC and who come from a Sepedi language background.
