Exploring comprehension of grammatical structures: A qualitative study of Azerbaijani-Turkish children

Grammar is of significant importance among linguistic parameters, and the prevalence of grammatical deficits is notably high in children with developmental language disorders. This study explores high-frequency comprehensible grammatical structures in Azerbaijani-Turkish children aged 4 to 6 years. This descriptive qualitative study was conducted in two phases in Tabriz from 2023 to 2024. The first phase included a comprehensive review of Azerbaijani-Turkish grammar resources and language development references, modeling of grammar comprehension tests, and grammatical analysis of spontaneous speech samples from 40 Azerbaijani-Turkish-speaking children aged 4 to 6 years. In this phase, 36 structures were identified as the most essential grammatical features. The second phase involved directed content analysis through in-depth and semi-structured face-to-face interviews with eight experts in speech and language pathologists (SLPs) and linguistics. After eliminating two structures, 34 grammatical structures were identified as the most frequently used by Azerbaijani-Turkish-speaking children aged 4 to 6 years. The overall validity of these structures was assessed to be 70% based on expert approval and consensus. The findings highlight the significance of these structures in language development and comprehension and provide insights into the unique linguistic characteristics of Azerbaijani-Turkish.