Nasal coarticulation in normal infants: A physiological analysis

Abstract

There are conflicting views regarding coarticulation in speech of children. Kent (1983) suggested that children’s speech is more “segmental” while Nittrouer et al. (1989) proposed that speech of young children has “syllabic organization” with syllables being units of speech production. According to Nittrouer et al. (1989), children may demonstrate more coarticulation than adults. The purpose of this study was to examine nasal coarticulation in the speech of infants over time. Nasal ram pressure (NRP) and audio signals were obtained from ten typically developing infants (five males and five females) at 12, 14, and 18 months of age. Six subjects produced 39 nasal syllables (either NV, VN, NVN, or VNV) at 12 months of age. Six subjects produced 62 nasal syllables at 14 months of age and eight subjects produced 95 nasal syllables at 18 months of age. Results revealed positive NRP at the midpoint of only 20% of vowels either preceding or following nasal consonants at 12 months of age. Positive NRP, however, was present during 62% and 77% of vowels produced at 14 and 18 months of age, respectively. Findings provide evidence for the development of nasal coarticulation over time from a more “segmental” to a “syllabic” level. {Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 1R01DE022566-01A1.]