Acquisition Of Consonants Research Articles

Phonological development of children with cochlear implants

ABSTRACT Phonological processes are examples of normal simplified articulation seen in all children during the language and speech sound acquisition phase, and their frequency decreases and disappears with age. They are of concern when they are used beyond the expected time frames or when the simplification processes do not follow the typical substitutions. The aim of this study was to examine the phonological development and consonant acquisition of Turkish-speaking children with CI and compare the results with normative data. Comparisons were made according to the duration of CI use and also according to the age of CI. Therefore, 52 participants were analysed, first divided into 4 groups according to duration of CI use and then into 2 groups according to age of CI. Phonology skills were evaluated with the Bankson-Bernthal Phonology Test. In children with CI, 1373 consonant production errors were detected. There were 28 phonological processes corresponding to these errors. The most common phonological processes were Initial Consonant Deletion, Cluster Reduction, Final Consonant Deletion, Vowel Lengthening, Devoicing, Assimilation, Nasalization and Dentalization. The most errors occurred in fricative and voiced sounds, and the fewest errors occurred in bilabial consonants (/b,/p,/m/). This study demonstrated that CI performed before the age of three years and continued use of CI over an extended period of time have beneficial impacts on the development of phonological skills. This study is thought to enhance the existing research on the acquisition of consonants and phonological development in Turkish-speaking children with CI, a topic that currently lacks sufficient information.

Positional error distribution in Thai speakers’ acquisition of Korean stop consonants: A speech corpus analysis

Positional error distribution in Thai speakers’ acquisition of Korean stop consonants: A speech corpus analysis

Фонологични процеси в усвояването на плавните съгласни р и л от деца, овладяващи славянски езици (по данни на проф. д-р Иван Георгов и съвременни данни)

The report is devoted to phonological processes in the acquisition of liquid consonants r and l in early childhood (up to 3 years) by children learning Slavic languages. The starting point of this research is a publication by Prof. Dr. Ivan Georgov from the beginning of the last century (1913). The thesis of the Bulgarian researcher was that up to the age of three, children mastering Slavic languages regularly replace r with l in certain phonological positions due to their similar place of articulation (both are alveolar, differing only in the manner of articulation: r is vibrant, whereas l is lateral). The report compares Georgov's Bulgarian data with contemporary empirical material: contemporary Bulgarian data excerpted from author’s own corpus as well as Polish and Russian data taken from the CHILDES international database). The results point to two main strategies in the acquisition of the vibrant consonant r by children speaking the three Slavic languages: First, a dominant substitution of r with l. This strategy was followed by the Polish children (thus emphasizing the relevance of the conclusions made by Georgov more than a century ago). Second, dominant elision of р (r) along with limited cases of substitution by means of л (l) and (or) й (y). This strategy was followed by the Bulgarian children from the author’s contemporary corpus and by the Russian subject. The differences in the two strategies are explained in the light of the changes in our language over the last decades.

Assessing Speech Production in Mandarin–English Bilingual Children: Comparison of Mandarin and English Sound Systems and Special Considerations

Purpose: When assessing bilingual children's speech, it is important to determine whether the errors are indicative of a true speech sound disorder or a speech sound difference. The purpose of this tutorial is to provide cultural and linguistic background of Mandarin in comparison to English and to outline the process of speech production assessment for Mandarin–English bilingual children. Method: Pertinent literature was reviewed around varieties of Chinese, unique features of the Mandarin sound system, commonly used transcription methods (International Phonetic Alphabet and Pinyin ), and patterns of Mandarin-influenced English. Previous research findings on the acquisition of consonants, vowels, and tones in monolingual Mandarin-speaking children were summarized. Results: The assessment process including consonants, vowels, tones, syllable structures, and lexical stress was described and illustrated with flow charts. Recourses related to cultural and linguistic information of Mandarin and accessible assessment materials are referenced. Conclusions: A thorough knowledge of a child's language background is crucial in planning assessment of speech production for Mandarin–English bilingual children. A comparative understanding of the sound systems of Mandarin and English facilitates clinical decision making.

Phonological acquisition in Vietnamese-speaking children with central dialect

ABSTRACT The current study investigated the phonological development in 3 to 7-year-old Vietnamese-speaking children with central dialect. Previous studies of speech development in Vietnamese-speaking children have focused on northern and southern dialects. The central Vietnamese dialect has distinct dialectal features. Therefore, it is essential to examine speech acquisition in children with central dialect to diagnose speech sound disorders accurately. Speech samples were collected from 80 children. Two native Vietnamese speakers transcribed children's speech productions independently using IPA symbols. The percentage of consonants correct, the percentage of initial consonants correct, the percentage of final consonants correct, the percentage of semivowels correct, and the percentage of vowels correct were calculated for age and sex groups. Ages of acquisition of individual consonants and phonological patterns were also identified. Overall, central Vietnamese-speaking children showed similar speech acquisition patterns compared to children with northern and southern Vietnamese dialects and other languages (e.g., vowels and semivowels were acquired early, and bilabials were acquired earlier than retroflex sounds). However, several differences from other dialects were also found in the age of acquisition for individual consonants (e.g., initial consonants /v/, /c/ and final consonants /k/, /ɲ/, /ŋ/). Central Vietnamese-speaking children produced initial /b/, /j/, /s/, /r/ and final /k/, /ŋ/ as dialectal variants for initial /p/, /z/, /ʂ/, /ʐ/ and final /t/, /n/, respectively. The current study's findings help us obtain a more comprehensive understanding of speech acquisition patterns in Vietnamese children and Vietnamese dialectal variants.

L1 Influence on Stop Consonant Production: A Case Study of Malaysian Mandarin-English Bilinguals

ABSTRACT Although English plays an important role in the linguistic repertoire of Malaysian speakers, there have been limited acoustic studies on the phonological aspect of English spoken in Malaysia. This study investigates the phonetic variation of the English initial stop consonants produced by 10 Mandarin–English bilinguals by measuring voice onset time (VOT) and closure duration as the primary acoustic cues. The effects of place of articulation are also examined. The results are then compared with Mandarin (ChM) and British English (BrE). Findings show phonetic variation in Chinese-influenced English (ChE) from both ChM and BrE with a tendency of assimilation towards BrE. The intermediate data distribution of VOT in ChE also shows weaker voicing contrast. While previous studies suggest closure duration as a secondary cue for the acquisition of stop consonants, it seems to carry an equivalent weight in the voicing distinction of ChM. However, ChE shows greater similarity to BrE with closure duration playing less role in voicing distinction. While bidirectional influence of both first language and BrE in the phonetic realisation of initial stop consonants among Mandarin–English bilinguals is observed, language-specific and social factors may set Malaysian Mandarin–English bilinguals apart due to the complex linguistic settings in multilingual Malaysia.

The Role Of English Consonants In Language Development : Acquisition And Articulation

This article examines the crucial role of English consonants in the language development of individuals, focusing on their acquisition and articulation processes. It explores how children acquire and master consonants in the English language, highlighting the significant milestones in their articulation development. The acquisition of English consonants plays a pivotal role in the overall language development of children. It involves the gradual learning of phonetic distinctions and the ability to produce and perceive consonant sounds accurately. This article discusses the various stages of consonant acquisition, starting from early babbling to the development of a more sophisticated consonant inventory. Articulation, the physical production of speech sounds, is a key component of consonant acquisition. The article emphasizes the importance of clear articulation for effective communication. It delves into the challenges that learners may encounter during the articulation process, such as difficulty in producing specific consonant sounds or mastering complex sound combinations. Furthermore, the article highlights the connection between consonant acquisition and vocabulary development. Adequate mastery of consonants enables learners to pronounce words correctly, enhancing their overall language proficiency and communication skills. Understanding the role of English consonants in language development is crucial for educators, parents, and speech-language pathologists. By gaining insights into the acquisition and articulation of consonant sounds, stakeholders can provide appropriate guidance and support to facilitate language learning and address any potential difficulties that learners may encounter. Overall, this article emphasizes the significance of English consonants in language development, emphasizing their role in acquisition, articulation, and vocabulary expansion.

Exploring The Acquisition Of Consonant In Phonological Development

This study aims to investigate the acquisition of consonants in children's phonological development. Phonological development is a complex process that involves the acquisition and use of speech sounds. The acquisition of consonants is particularly significant as they play a crucial role in the formation of words and overall language development. This research will explore various factors that contribute to the acquisition of consonants, such as articulatory mechanisms, phonetic inventory development, and phonological patterns. Additionally, the study will examine the sequence and rate of consonant acquisition, potential cross-linguistic differences, and the impact of individual and environmental factors on this developmental process. The findings from this study will provide valuable insights into the specific challenges and milestones associated with consonant acquisition, contributing to our understanding of phonological development in children.

The typological frequency of consonants is highly predictive of their order of acquisition in English

AbstractThe order of acquisition of consonants by children is impacted by both language-specific and species-wide factors. The latter factors also help to motivate the crosslinguistic commonness of some consonants. Here we explore the extent of overlap between crosslinguistic commonness and order of acquisition. We test how well the typological commonness of consonants is predictive of their order of acquisition in English, and vice versa, helping to shed light on the extent to which general cognitive and physical factors are explanatory vis-à-vis the acquisition of specific consonant types. We utilize several different sources to demonstrate that typological frequency and order of acquisition are indeed highly mutually predictive. We rely on acquisition data from English. We demonstrate that the crosslinguistic usage of a consonant is a better predictor of its order of acquisition than the language-specific factors tested.

Perubahan BunyiBahasa pada Tuturan Anak Balita di Paud Beriuk Tinjal Lombok Timur: Kajian Fonologi

This research aims to knowing what language sounds are used and the process of sound change in the toddler speech. This research uses a qualitative approach. The data sources this research is five children aged two to three years. The method used in the data collection stage is the listening method with fishing technique, note-taking technique, engagement listening technique and recording technique. The method used to analyze the data is match method and agih method. The presentation of the result of data analysis is carried out by formal methods and informal methods. In this research it was found the acquisition of vowels and consonants in children aged 2-3 years has a different amount of sounds. At the age of two years and one month, get 16 vowels and consonants sounds, videlicet [c], [d], [h], [n], [m], [p], [t], [w], [y], [ a], [i], [u], [?], [?], [o], [?]; At the age of two years and three months, get 20 vowels and consonants sounds, videlicet [b], [c], [d], [g], [h], [k], [l], [m], [n], [ p], [t], [w], [y], [a], [i], [u], [?], [?], [o], [?]; and at the age of two years and five months, get 22 vowels and consonants sounds, videlicet [b], [c], [d], [g], [h], [j], [k], [l], [m], [n], [p], [s], [t], [w], [y], [a], [i], [u], [?], [?], [o], [?]; At the age of two years and eight months, there is 23 vowels and consonants soundas, videlicet [b], [c], [d], [g], [h], [j], [k], [l], [m], [n], [p], [s], [t], [w], [y], [a], [i], [u], [?], [?], [o], [?], [?]; whereas at the age of three years, get 23 vowels and consonant sounds, namely [b], [c], [d], [g], [h], [j], [k], [l], [m], [n], [p], [s], [t], [w], [y], [a], [i], [u], [?], [?], [o], [?], and [?]. The acquisition sounds which is still not mastered 2-3 years old children are [r] and [z].

PEMEROLEHAN FONOLOGI BAHASA PERTAMA MADURA PADA ANAK USIA TIGA TAHUN: KAJIAN PSIKOLINGISTIK

This study aims to describe the acquisition of the first language of children aged three years based on phonological aspects including, the acquisition of vowels, acquisition of consonants, and factors that influence the acquisition of phonology in children. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach. The research data is in the form of children's speech. The data source was obtained from a three-year-old child named AMS who grew up in an environment with Madurese first language. At the age of three years, AMS is going through a golden period or a critical period. During this golden period, children begin to be able to carry out the language acquisition process. Data collection was carried out using observation and interview methods. After that, the data obtained were then analyzed through three stages, namely the data reduction stage, the data preparation stage, and the conclusion drawing stage. The findings of the study indicate that at the age of three, children are already fluent in the Madurese language, but there is little influence of Indonesian on the child's Madurese language. At this age, children get a phonemic inventory of the Madurese language, including Indonesian. The child has mastered the vowels [a], [i], [u], [e], and [o] along with their allophones. In addition, children also master several consonant sounds, including [b], [p], [m], [n], [w], [j], [k], [g], [p], [ l], [ŋ], [ɲ], [h], [tʃ],, [ʃ] and [ʤ]. Meanwhile, the sounds [r], [s], and [f] cannot be pronounced properly even though they are located at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the word. Based on the results of observations, the limitations of children in pronouncing some of these consonants are caused by the child's articulator factor which has not grown perfectly. Even though the researchers provoked consonants that had not yet appeared in the child's pronunciation, the child was still not able to pronounce the sound of the consonant phoneme. In this regard, it can be seen that the phonological acquisition of a child's first language is not determined by the year, but is strongly influenced by neurobiological factors. Therefore, it is not impossible if the acquisition of the sounds of children of the same age in the same year can be different in number, because what is universal is not the year, but the appearance of these sounds. Another factor that affects the acquisition of AMS phonology is the stimulus provided by the family and the environment around the child. Based on some of the data found, certain sounds are the result of imitation. Therefore, the acquisition of a child's first language is also greatly influenced by the environment around the child.

Acquisition of emphatic consonants by Ammani Arabic-speaking children

ABSTRACT This article investigates the production of the emphatic consonants /ṭ, ḍ, ṣ/ by typically developing Jordanian children. Sixty typically developing monolingual Ammani Arabic-speaking children (30 boys and 30 girls) with ages ranging from 2 to 7;11 years were recruited in a production experiment. In the experiment, they were asked to produce 18 minimal pair words with emphatic consonants and their corresponding plain coronals in all word positions. Contrary to Amayreh & Dyson (1998) and Hamdan & Amayreh (2007), >50% of Ammani Arabic-speaking children produced emphatic consonants by the age of 3, >75% produced them by the age of 4, and >90% produced them by the age of 5. Acoustically, they produce them in an adult-like manner at the age of 6 word-initially and medially and at the age of 7 word-finally. The acoustic measurements confirm that children’s productions become increasingly adult-like with age. Compared with nonemphatic consonants, the appearance of emphatics tends to be delayed in Ammani Arabic. This delay in the production of emphatics, which are among the least frequently occurring consonants in Arabic, is likely due to their articulatory complexity, which involves a secondary co-articulation (the so-called pharyngealization). The current findings help clarify the developmental trajectory of children’s acquisition of emphatic consonants and should be informative for both researchers and clinicians.

Acquiring Italian stop consonants: A challenge for Mandarin Chinese-speaking learners

The acquisition of Italian stop consonants by Mandarin Chinese-speaking learners has hardly been investigated. This study was designed to fill this gap. To investigate Chinese learners’ acquisition patterns of Italian voiced and voiceless stops, a perception experiment and a production experiment were conducted. Twenty Mandarin Chinese-speaking undergraduate students majoring in Italian, five native Italian and five native Mandarin speakers served as participants in the perception experiment; and an equal number of participants with the same language backgrounds served as participants in the production experiment. In the perception experiment, the participants had to identify the stimuli in three continua (i.e. bilabial, alveolar and velar) where voice onset time (VOT) values ranged from −50 ms to 90 ms in 10 ms steps. In the production experiment, data were collected from a reading task in which the participants were asked to read the target words with word-initial stops in carrier-sentences; the VOT and closure durations were measured. The results show that, in perception, Chinese learners have difficulty differentiating between Italian voiced and voiceless stops; in production, Italian voiced rather than voiceless stops represent a challenge for Chinese learners. The results are in line with the predictions made by the Perceptual Assimilation Model-L2 (PAM-L2) and the Speech Learning Model (SLM), as well as with most other studies focusing on the acquisition of stops of ‘true-voice languages’ by Chinese learners.

Bringing Linguistics into the Spanish Language Classroom by Judy Hochberg

Reviewed by: Bringing Linguistics into the Spanish Language Classroom by Judy Hochberg Carlos Benavides Hochberg, Judy. Bringing Linguistics into the Spanish Language Classroom. Routledge, 2021. Pp. 164. ISBN 978-0-367-11196-0. There is a scarcity of books in the market that incorporate topics in linguistics into the teaching of languages. Bringing Linguistics into the Spanish Language Classroom comes to fill this void. This book enables teachers to integrate the most interesting and important findings of Hispanic linguistics into their Spanish language classes. For each topic covered, teachers will find classroom-ready explanations and PowerPoint slides, as well as instructions and materials for in-class activities and take-home projects that will engage students. The book covers a wide variety of topics, including the “mega-preposition” en, the trilled r, the order of acquisition of consonants, por and para, the personal a, and the evolution of the Spanish verb system. The book is organized around a wide-ranging set of five linguistics-based essential questions that serve to contextualize the material: 1) How is Spanish different from other languages?, 2) How is Spanish similar to other languages?, 3) What are the roots of Spanish?, 4) How does Spanish vary?, 5) How do people learn and use Spanish? These questions are general enough for teachers of other languages to [End Page 154] easily apply them to their own target languages. The book’s introduction presents these essential questions as they apply to Spanish, and its five chapters take them up in turn. Each chapter covers several topics relevant to one of the essential questions. Crucially, the chapters provide instructors with everything they need to incorporate these topics into their teaching. Each chapter consists of an introduction and one or two major topics, each with sub-topics. For example, Chapter 1, titled “How is Spanish different from other languages?” has two major topics (“Spanish in the world” and “Language features”), and one of the sub-topics is “The variety of Spanish past tenses.” The presentation of each sub-topic begins with a brief explanation in English (“Just the facts”), which is followed by an even briefer one in simple Spanish (“Teacher talk”). These explanations are followed by detailed instructions for creative and engaging in-class activities and take-home projects that motivate, teach, reinforce, or explore the topic. Each chapter closes with a list of references. Three appendices list all in-class activities, take-home projects and slides. Each chapter has a corresponding PowerPoint presentation with slides in Spanish that are available online. The slides are an excellent complement to the explanations and activities in the book. They provide facts, examples, explanations, descriptions, word lists, sample data from research studies, quotations, and a wide range of attention-grabbing visuals, including pictures, maps, tables, diagrams and links to other images as well as articles and videos. Other slides contain instructions and supporting materials for the in-class activities and take-home projects. The material in both the chapter explanations and the slides is sure to give both students and teachers a sense of marvel at learning some of these facts for the first time. The book is full of eye-opening details, backed up by references, that even experienced linguists may not be fully aware of. Readers may even find themselves going through the contents as when reading a book from cover to cover, while consulting the slides as they read along. Reading this book is an enjoyable experience. The field of Hispanic linguistics, which serves as the basis for the book, sheds light on aspects of Spanish from phonology to grammar, from history to dialectology, and from acquisition to adult cognition. While teachers may have had some training in Hispanic linguistics, they may not necessarily know how best to apply it. This book bridges the gap between theory and practice with specific explanations, activities, assignments, and PowerPoint slides that Spanish teachers can use in their own classrooms, enabling them to enrich their practice with insights from this allied field. The linguistic insights from the book can contribute to add intellectual interest to the classroom by connecting Spanish to other languages, to general linguistic principles, and to other fields such as history...

Language and Learner Specific Influences on the Emergence of Consonantal Place and Manner Features.

This article focuses on the emergence of consonantal place and manner feature categories in the speech of first language learners. Starting with an overview of current representational approaches to phonology, we take the position that only models that allow for the emergence of phonological categories at all levels of phonological representation (from sub-segmental properties of speech sounds all the way to word forms represented within the child’s lexicon) can account for the data. We begin with a cross-linguistic survey of the acquisition of rhotic consonants. We show that the types of substitutions affecting different rhotics cross-linguistically can be predicted from two main observations: the phonetic characteristics of these rhotics and the larger system of categories displayed by each language. We then turn to a peculiar pattern of labial substitution for coronal continuants in the speech of a German learner. Building on previous literature on the topic, we attribute the emergence of this pattern to distributional properties of the child’s developing lexicon. Together, these observations suggest that our understanding of phonological emergence must involve a consideration of multiple, potentially interacting levels of phonetic and phonological representation.

Phonological acquisition in 3- to 5-year-old Kurdish-Speaking children in Iran

Backgroundgiven the lack of sufficient information and research about phonological acquisition in the Kurdish language, the aim of this study was to examine phonological acquisition in typically developing Kurdish-speaking children. Three analyses were performed: (1) the age of customary, acquisition and mastery production of Kurdish consonants; (2) phonological accuracy and the age of phonological pattern suppression; and (3) effect of age and sex on speech sound acquisition. Methodsthis research assessed 120 monolingual Kurdish-speaking children aged 3;0 to 5;0 years. The participants were selected randomly from the health center of Bukan city, Iran. Acquisition of 29 Kurdish consonants was assessed using the Kurdish Speech Test. Findingsresults found that Kurdish-speaking children had acquired all the vowels before 3;0 and all the consonants in the three positions of initial, medial and final up to 4;6 years old, with the exception of /ʤ/ in initial position, /ɣ/ in medial position and /ʒ/, /z/, /ɡ/, /ɣ/ in final position. Consonant production in initial position was more accurate than in medial and final positions. The accuracy of Kurdish vowels and consonants improves with increasing age as phonological patterns decrease. There was no significant sex difference within the age groups; however, overall, a statistically significant difference was noted for fricative production and for production of word final consonants in the older groups with females outperforming males. Conclusionsthe present study is the first investigation of speech sound acquisition in Kurdish-speaking children. Knowledge of typical speech sound acquisition provides a basis for speech-language pathologists working with Kurdish-speaking children to differentiate children with typical development from those with speech delays and speech sound disorders.

Icelandic Children's Acquisition of Consonants and Consonant Clusters.

Purpose This study investigated Icelandic-speaking children's acquisition of singleton consonants and consonant clusters. Method Participants were 437 typically developing children aged 2;6-7;11 (years;months) acquiring Icelandic as their first language. Single-word speech samples of the 47 single consonants and 45 consonant clusters were collected using Málhljóðapróf ÞM (ÞM's Test of Speech Sound Disorders). Results Percentage of consonants correct for children aged 2;6-2;11 was 73.12 (SD = 13.33) and increased to 98.55 (SD = 3.24) for children aged 7;0-7;11. Overall, singleton consonants were more likely to be accurate than consonant clusters. The earliest consonants to be acquired were /m, n, p, t, j, h/ in word-initial position and /f, l/ within words. The last consonants to be acquired were /x, r, r̥, s, θ, n̥/, and consonant clusters in word-initial /sv-, stl-, str-, skr-, θr-/, within-word /-ðr-, -tl-/, and word-final /-kl̥, -xt/ contexts. Within-word phonemes were more often accurate than those in word-initial position, with word-final position the least accurate. Accuracy of production was significantly related to increasing age, but not sex. Conclusions This is the first comprehensive study of consonants and consonant cluster acquisition by typically developing Icelandic-speaking children. The findings align with trends for other Germanic languages; however, there are notable language-specific differences of clinical importance.

Pemerolehan Fonologi Bahasa Indonesia Anak Laki-Laki Usia 4 (Empat) Tahun

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan pemerolehan fonologi berupa pemerolehan vokal, konsonan, dan diftong. Metode dalam penelitian ini adalah metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kasus yang diperoleh seorang laki-laki berusia 4 tahun. Pada penelitian ini ditemukan bahwa IHA (kepanjangannya) telah memperoleh fonem vokal lengkap di usia 4 (empat) tahun dan sebagian besar bunyi konsonan juga telah diperoleh. Bunyi vokal rangkap atau diftong juga telah ia kuasai. Sementara bunyi frikatif [f], bunyi getar [r] belum dikuasainya sampai usia 4 (empat) tahun. Uniknya, IHA memiliki pola tersendiri jika menemukan konsonan /l/ dan konsonan /r/ yang terletak pada akhir kata. IHA akan menggantinya dengan fonem //ŋ//. Ini terjadi karena speech motor yang IHA miliki belum lengkap atau belum berkembang dengan sempurna

Acquisition of consonants among typically developing Akan-speaking children: A preliminary report

Purpose Although Akan is one of the most widely spoken indigenous languages in Ghana, very little is known about children’s phonological development. This paper investigates the development of consonants in Akan among typically developing children aged 3–5 years. Method A list of 103 Akan words was compiled, sampling the full range of prosodic structures, sound positions, features and segments, and controlling for word familiarity. A native Akan speaker audio-recorded the 103 single-word productions from each of nine typically developing children aged 3–5 years. The child productions were transcribed and analysed following procedures used in a larger cross-linguistic study. The current study presents results on the acquisition of consonants across the various ages. Result Preliminary results indicate that most consonants in Akan are mastered by age 4 or 5, similar to reports for other languages, although /w/ and /l/ showed late mastery, contrary to cross-linguistic observations. The rhotic /ɹ/ and consonants with secondary articulation were still developing at age 4 and showing a variety of mismatch patterns across children. Conclusion The findings provide preliminary information for developmentalists and speech-language pathologists on typical phonological development in Akan and contribute to a growing database on language acquisition in Niger-Congo languages.

Children's English Consonant Acquisition in the United States: A Review.

Purpose Speech-language pathologists' clinical decision making and consideration of eligibility for services rely on quality evidence, including information about consonant acquisition (developmental norms). The purpose of this review article is to describe the typical age and pattern of acquisition of English consonants by children in the United States. Method Data were identified from published journal articles and assessments reporting English consonant acquisition by typically developing children living in the United States. Sources were identified through searching 11 electronic databases, review articles, the Buros database, and contacting experts. Data describing studies, participants, methodology, and age of consonant acquisition were extracted. Results Fifteen studies (six articles and nine assessments) were included, reporting consonant acquisition of 18,907 children acquiring English in the United States. These cross-sectional studies primarily used single-word elicitation. Most consonants were acquired by 5;0 (years;months). The consonants /b, n, m, p, h, w, d/ were acquired by 2;0-2;11; /ɡ, k, f, t, ŋ, j/ were acquired by 3;0-3;11; /v, ʤ, s, ʧ, l, ʃ, z/ were acquired by 4;0-4;11; /ɹ, ð, ʒ/ were acquired by 5;0-5;11; and /θ/ was acquired by 6;0-6;11 (ordered by mean age of acquisition, 90% criterion). Variation was evident across studies resulting from different assessments, criteria, and cohorts of children. Conclusions These findings echo the cross-linguistic findings of McLeod and Crowe (2018) across 27 languages that children had acquired most consonants by 5;0. On average, all plosives, nasals, and glides were acquired by 3;11; all affricates were acquired by 4;11; all liquids were acquired by 5;11; and all fricatives were acquired by 6;11 (90% criterion). As speech-language pathologists apply this information to clinical decision making and eligibility decisions, synthesis of knowledge from multiple sources is recommended.