Development of an Arabic core vocabulary list for children utilizing augmentative and alternative communication

The aim of this study was to identify the most frequently and commonly used words by typically developing Saudi preschool-aged participants, to guide the selection of vocabulary for children using augmentative and alternative communication. A quantitative descriptive observational design was used, and the included 161 participants aged three to six years. The participants were selected from five different regions in Kingdom of Saudia Arabia. The samples were then analyzed to determine the frequency of words used, the commonality of use across regions, and the different parts of speech. The findings revealed that the identified 239 core words covered 91% of the composite sample. Among the 239 core words, 84.5% were content words and 15.5% were function words. The core vocabulary was divided into 11 parts of speech, with nouns being the most frequently occurring, followed by verbs and adjectives. These findings are different from those seen in some other languages where function words were found to be higher. The study also discusses implications, limitations, and directions for future research.