Using schema theory to support a whole-word approach to phonological acquisition

Abstract

AbstractEarly child phonological acquisition data typically contain exceptional phonetic forms that defy segment-based rules and have long challenged traditional theoretical frameworks. The templatic approach to phonological acquisition claims that whole-word phonotactic patterns emerge as the first primary units of representation, later giving way to segmental knowledge. This approach places importance on the relationships among a child’s forms in addition to those between child forms and their corresponding adult targets. Inscribed within dynamic systems theory, the templatic approach assumes a developing phonological system to be self-organizing and driven by general cognitive processes in response to patterns in the ambient language. This paper analyzes data from a diary study of one monolingual child acquiring American English. Data collected during the first six months of word production were put to templatic analysis, then examined for evidence of schematic structure. Incorporating the chronology of utterances the child produced, analysis revealed varying degrees of abstraction as early patterns integrated with newer patterns. The results reveal schema theory to be an informative supplementary framework for templatic analysis. Schema theory provides a structured way to trace the emergence and interaction of whole-word patterns a child uses to facilitate the production of first words.