The secret language of twins: Implications for language development

Abstract

Twin language has held much intrigue to both professionals and the public; however, there is continuing debate about the influence of twin language and later language delays. The purpose of this survey study was to determine if there was a relationship between the type of twin (monozygotic or dizygotic) or the gender of the twins and use of twin talk. In the study, results of 55 twin sets (20 monozygotic twins and 35 dizygotic twins) with an age range of 15 months to 55 years were analyzed. The results indicated that neither the type of twin, gender, nor maternal education significantly impacted the use of twin talk. In addition, twin talk did not significantly impact later language or literacy development. Few participants indicated need for speech language services, although of those who did receive services, speech-sound deficits were most common. Twin rates are increasing and speech-language pathologists should understand their language needs.