| Summary: | The current study explores the frequency and types of passive voice constructions found in children’s literature as compared to child directed speech (CDS). Research studies indicate that children learn to understand and produce passive voice relatively late in the language acquisition process, which some researchers attribute to the scarcity of passive voice in CDS. This study expands current knowledge of passive voice input by adding another source, children’s literature, because several studies have demonstrated that children’s books may serve as enriched sources of input for academic language. Analyses of data indicate that the amount of passive voice and the types of passive voice found in children’s literature and child directed speech are not significantly different, contradicting the idea that books contain more academic language than CDS. Further research is necessary in order to fully understand why children acquire passive voice in the late stages of language acquisition.
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