Phonological development of a Putonghua-speaking child with prelingual hearing impairment: a longitudinal case study

Abstract

The phonological ability and development of a Putonghua-speaking child with severe prelingual hearing impairment between the age of 3;5 and 4;5 was described using the measures of MLU, MLVV, MaxLU, TTR, PCE, inconsistency rating, phonological processes, and phonetic and phonemic inventory. Comparison of the developmental patterns identified in the child and that of children speaking English and Cantonese revealed both cross-linguistic similarities and the influence of the ambient language on the phonological acquisition of children with hearing impairment. The effect of hearing impairment on phonological acquisition is discussed.