What transfers between the two languages
- Final consonants may be dropped — “cat” becomes “ca.”
- Mandarin has no verb tense endings, so “yesterday I go” is expected early on.
- Articles (a, the) do not exist in Mandarin and are typically the last thing to appear.
Difference or disorder?
A Mandarin-speaking child with age-appropriate Mandarin who omits English endings is showing transfer, not delay.
About code-switching
Switching languages by topic — school words in English, family words in Mandarin — is normal domain separation.
How we assess it fairly
We sample Mandarin with a clinician or interpreter who speaks it, and never score tone patterns as speech-sound errors.
Still unsure whether what you're seeing is typical?
Talk to the Care GuideThis tool provides educational guidance and does not replace evaluation by a licensed healthcare professional.