A Distinctive Feature Analysis of Misarticulated Consonants of Speech-Defective Children and Adults

Abstract

Data on consonant misarticulations were obtained from the clinical records of 1373 subjects who were diagnosed as functional articulation cases at the University of Tennessee Hearing and Speech Center over a 12-yr period. Twenty-two consonants were tested in the initial position, 24 in the medial, and 21 in the final position. These data were analyzed by an IBM 7040 computer to tabulate the frequency of the errors and to compute chi-square values and Spearman Rank Order Correlations. Singh's (1968) distinctive feature system was utilized for the distinctive feature classification. The results indicated that the frequency of the substitutions usually decreased as the number of distinctive feature differences increased. When the number of distinctive feature differences was identical, the errors did not occur with equal frequency. Alveolar consonants were the most frequent substitutions. Friction plus and nasality plus “improved” with age. The rank order of the correct use of the features was voicing, nasality, friction, duration, glide, and liquid. Distinctive feature “rules” may be useful as clinical guidelines for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of misarticulations.