Atypical Phonological Development Research Articles

On the role of syllable structure in atypical phonological development: Evidence from the acquisition of /l/ by Portuguese children

ABSTRACT The alveolar lateral is phonetically and phonologically complex. Previous studies have shown that /l/ is one of the last segments to be acquired by typically developing Portuguese children. However, little is known about how Portuguese children with atypical development acquire /l/. In this paper, we investigate the acquisition of /l/ by Portuguese children with protracted phonological development (DLD; SSD). We explore the effect of syllable structure and segmental properties in the acquisition of /l/ and describe mismatches used for target /l/, thus contributing empirical evidence to the ongoing discussion on differential diagnoses for children with primary phonological disorders. Our results show that the lateral is more problematic in SSD than in DLD, with the manner of articulation being more problematic than its place. A syllable-segment interface effect was attested. Mismatches showed a preference for [w, ɾ, ø]. The results are discussed considering their implications for clinical practice and the role of target phonetic and phonological properties in the /l/ acquisition path.

Evidências de validade e fidedignidade do Teste de Fala Comprimida com Figuras

ABSTRACT Purpose To seek evidence of validity and reliability for the Compressed Speech Test with Figures. Methods The study was subdivided into three stages: construct validation, criteria and reliability. All participants were aged between 6:00 and 8:11. For the construct, Compressed Speech with Figures and the gold standard Adapted Compressed Speech test were applied to children with typical phonological development. For criterion analysis, Compressed Speech with Figures was applied in two groups, with typical (G1) and atypical (G2) phonological development. Finally, the application protocols underwent analysis by two Speech Therapists, with experience in the area of Central Auditory Processing, seeking to obtain an inter-evaluator reliability analysis. Results The correlation test indicated an almost perfect construct (correlation 0.843 for the right ear and 0.823 for the left ear). In the criterion analysis, it was noticed that both groups presented satisfactory results (G1 = 99.6 to 100%; G2 = 96 to 96.5%). The reliability analysis demonstrated that the protocol is easy to analyze, as both professionals presented unanimous responses. Conclusion It was possible to obtain evidence of validity and reliability for the Compressed Speech with Figures instrument. The construct analysis showed that the instrument measures the same variable as the gold standard test, with an almost perfect correlation. In the criterion analysis, both groups presented similar performance, demonstrating that the instrument does not seem to differentiate populations with and without mild phonological disorder. The inter-evaluator reliability analysis demonstrated that the protocol is easy to analyze and score.

Evidence of validity and reliability of the Compressed Speech Test with Figures.

To seek evidence of validity and reliability for the Compressed Speech Test with Figures. The study was subdivided into three stages: construct validation, criteria and reliability. All participants were aged between 6:00 and 8:11. For the construct, Compressed Speech with Figures and the gold standard Adapted Compressed Speech test were applied to children with typical phonological development. For criterion analysis, Compressed Speech with Figures was applied in two groups, with typical (G1) and atypical (G2) phonological development. Finally, the application protocols underwent analysis by two Speech Therapists, with experience in the area of Central Auditory Processing, seeking to obtain an inter-evaluator reliability analysis. The correlation test indicated an almost perfect construct (correlation 0.843 for the right ear and 0.823 for the left ear). In the criterion analysis, it was noticed that both groups presented satisfactory results (G1 = 99.6 to 100%; G2 = 96 to 96.5%). The reliability analysis demonstrated that the protocol is easy to analyze, as both professionals presented unanimous responses. It was possible to obtain evidence of validity and reliability for the Compressed Speech with Figures instrument. The construct analysis showed that the instrument measures the same variable as the gold standard test, with an almost perfect correlation. In the criterion analysis, both groups presented similar performance, demonstrating that the instrument does not seem to differentiate populations with and without mild phonological disorder. The inter-evaluator reliability analysis demonstrated that the protocol is easy to analyze and score.

When codas trump onsets: an English-speaking child with atypical phonological development before and after intervention

ABSTRACT This case study presents an English-speaking preschooler with severely protracted phonological development (PPD) before and after two six-week blocks of intervention (36 sessions). Pre-treatment (3;8), he showed very low whole word, singleton consonant, vowel, and word shape matches. He had two major uncommon patterns: (1) higher accuracy for word-final consonants compared with word-initial (WI) and word-medial (WM); and (2) frequent substitution of onset consonants with glottals [h] or [ʔ]. Goals and treatment strategies were selected using a nonlinear phonological approach. Post-treatment, there was a notable decrease in frequency of glottal substitutions and concomitant increase in word shape, consonant, and vowel match. Pre- and post-treatment data are presented and discussed in terms of theoretical and clinical implications.

Ultrasonographic analysis of coronal fricative phonemes

To compare the tongue contour in different groups (children with typical, atypical phonological development and adults) in the production of fricative children, through ultrasound videos. The six participants were divided in three groups: Group DF - two children with phonological processes anteriorization of fricative (/ʃ/→ [s]), (both with seven years), group DT - two children with typical development of language (eight and nine years old) and group AD - two adults, all speakers of Brazilian Portuguese. The videos of the movement of the tongue in the production of target sounds inserted in the words /'sapo/, /'sika/, /'suko/, /'∫ave/, /'∫ike/ and /'∫uva/ were organized and evaluated by three judges speech therapists with experience in this area, guided in VAS. It has been observed that, for two of the judges, there was a significant difference between the words produced by children with DF and CT when compared with the words in contexts and vowel [i] and [u], and the productions of these children /∫/→[s] and /s/→[s], respectively, but not for words accompanied [a]. When comparing the data of children with DF and AD, there was statistically significant (p-value < 0.05) in the context of vowel [u]. The judges have detected articulatory differences between typical and atypical productions for children, as well as differentiation also as to the production of adults.

Phonological development in school-aged Kuwaiti Arabic children with Down syndrome: A pilot study

BackgroundStudies on atypical phonological development are very limited for Arabic, and to date no studies on Arabic have investigated the development of phonology in children with conditions such as Down Syndrome. Arabic, like other Semitic languages, is rich in consonants and consonantal variation. However, it differs greatly from region to region, and so reports on individual dialects or regional dialects are necessary. Kuwaiti Arabic, the focus of the present paper, is similar to other dialects in the Gulf region. AimThis is a preliminary study to examine the phonological development of school-aged Kuwaiti Arabic–speaking children with Down Syndrome in order to start to address the research gap noted above. Methods & ProceduresSix Kuwaiti Arabic-speaking children were recruited for this pilot study from integrated public schools where children with disabilities and typically developing children are enrolled in the State of Kuwait: three male and three female students, age range of 5;10–12;3 years. All participants had the same single word speech test of 100 words. The first author, a native speaker of Kuwaiti Arabic, audio-recorded and phonetically transcribed the sample with the help of two speech-language pathologists from Kuwait. Reliability was confirmed by the first author and another expert rater. Both match and mismatch analyses were performed and compared to existing literature. Outcomes & ResultsOverall consonant accuracy across participants was 50%, with a variety of matches across consonant categories. However, the participants also exhibited a wide range of mismatches across positions in words and phonological features (place, manner, and laryngeal features). Place substitutions were the most frequent. Some sounds exhibited double (place and manner) mismatches. The most common word structure mismatch was consonant cluster reduction (no matches for word-initial clusters). Mismatch patterns resembled both those of normally developing Kuwaiti children and those of English speakers with Down Syndrome in certain ways. Conclusions & ImplicationsThis pilot study provides preliminary information for clinicians regarding the speech or children with Down Syndrome (DS), not only in Kuwait but also in the Gulf region where there are similarities to Kuwaiti Arabic.

O grafema e o dígrafo um estudo longitudinal do desempenho ortográfico de crianças de três dialetos portugueses

e possible preservation of the phonological distinction between the voiceless post-alveolar affricate /tS/ and the voiceless post-alveolar fricative /S/ - corresponding to the graphic forms <ch> and <x>, respectively - in only a few dialects in the north of the country could be motivating different behaviors from children speaking different regional varieties of Portuguese in their first years of schooling. Since this study has not yet been done, this paper intends to analyze the written productions of Portuguese children from three linguistic areas of Portugal, represented here by children from the cities of Lisbon, Porto, and Chaves, about the spellings <x> and <ch>, to understand whether there is any relationship between the preservation or non-preservation of this phonological distinction and the children’s orthographic performance. Thus, the written productions of students belonging to the three dialectal regions mentioned above will be analyzed based on data from the EFFE-On corpus (Rodrigues, Lourenço-Gomes, Alves, Janssen & Gomes 2015) with the phonological distinction between /tS/ and /S/ having been preserved in some and neutralized in others. Therefore, it will be possible to measure the impact that the students’ dialect can have on their orthographic performance, as well as perceive any differences in performance related to the grapheme <x> vs. the digraph <ch>. Two groups of children were created for the analysis: a group with typical and another with atypical phonological development children. The differences observed point to a need to deepen the discussion concerning the sound aspect of language in the classroom, beginning in the first years of schooling - especially during the literacy phase.

Evidence for [Coronal] Underspecification in Typical and Atypical Phonological Development.

The Featurally Underspecified Lexicon (FUL) theory predicts that [coronal] is the language universal default place of articulation for phonemes. This assumption has been consistently supported with adult behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) data; however, this underspecification claim has not been tested in developmental populations. The purpose of this study was to determine whether children demonstrate [coronal] underspecification patterns similar to those of adults. Two English consonants differing in place of articulation, [labial] /b/ and [coronal] /d/, were presented to 24 children (ages 4–6 years) characterized by either a typically developing phonological system (TD) or a phonological disorder (PD). Two syllables, /bɑ/ and /dɑ/, were presented in an ERP oddball paradigm where both syllables served as the standard and deviant stimulus in opposite stimulus sets. Underspecification was examined with three analyses: traditional mean amplitude measurements, cluster-based permutation tests, and single-trial general linear model (GLM) analyses of single-subject data. Contrary to previous adult findings, children with PD demonstrated a large positive mismatch response (PMR) to /bɑ/ while the children with TD exhibited a negative mismatch response (MMN); significant group differences were not observed in the /dɑ/ responses. Moreover, the /bɑ/ deviant ERP response was significantly larger in the TD children than in the children with PD. At the single-subject level, more children demonstrated mismatch responses to /dɑ/ than to /bɑ/, though some children had a /bɑ/ mismatch response and no /dɑ/ mismatch response. While both groups of children demonstrated similar responses to the underspecified /dɑ/, their neural responses to the more specified /bɑ/ varied. These findings are interpreted within a proposed developmental model of phonological underspecification, wherein children with PD are functioning at a developmentally less mature stage of phonological acquisition than their same-aged TD peers. Thus, phonological underspecification is a phenomenon that likely develops over time with experience and exposure to language.

Phonological Assessment Instrument (INFONO): A pilot study.

To analyze the recognizability and effectiveness of items in the Phonological Assessment Tool (Instrumento de Avaliação Fonológica - INFONO) at eliciting target words, as well as to evaluate the internal consistency of the instrument and compare performance between genders, school types and typical vs. atypical phonological development. Participants were 48 children (n=26 with typical phonological development and n=22 with atypical development) categorized by age (6 age groups ranging from 3 years and 8 years 11 months), type of school (public vs. private) and gender (male vs. female). Data were collected by the spontaneous naming task of the INFONO. Recognition rates, scores, recognition difficulties and internal consistency were examined in 116 items. Performance in a final set of 84 items was also compared between genders, school types and typical/atypical phonological development. Most target words achieved high recognition rates were considered suitable for use in the INFONO. Some images had to be redesigned to facilitate the spontaneous production of target words, while other items were excluded from the instrument altogether. The instrument demonstrated excellent internal consistency. There were no statistically significant differences between genders and school types, though differences were observed between typically and atypically developing children. The images in the INFONO were successfully recognized by participants and were effective at eliciting the target words. The final set of items contained the minimum number of target words which would allow for an assessment of all phonemes in Brazilian Portuguese in different word and syllable positions, and these items presented excellent internal consistency.

A phonological assessment test for child Greek

ABSTRACTThis article advances a clinical tool for assessing typical and atypical phonological development in children speaking standard Modern Greek or Hellenic (ISO 639.1, el). The proposed tool develops a comprehensive test that is archetypical of the standard idiom and of predominant dialectal variations and seeks to be readily available for logopedics and language researchers of child Greek anywhere. By utilising the constraint-based nonlinear theoretical framework, this Greek battery complements a larger study that utilises equivalent methodology in the evaluation of phonological acquisition of monolingual children with typical and protracted phonological development across several languages. As an example, the efficacy of the tool is tested by administering it to a monolingual Greek-speaking girl, aged 4;8, whose speech shows evidence of delay on different phonological levels when compared to known monolingual norms/data. The ultimate aim is a standardised test to help establish reliable quantitative norms/stages in child Greek development, as a benchmark for assessment and intervention of phonological delay and disorder.

Spelling errors and phonological awareness skills in children with typical and atypical phonological development.

To verify and correlate the spelling errors present in the written productions to the performance in phonological awareness skills of children in different school years, with typical and atypical phonological development. The sample consisted of 50 children divided into two groups: with typical phonological development (TPD) and with atypical phonological development (APD); students from the early years (1st to 5th grades) of schooling and ages between 6:0 and 10:0 years old. The children were submitted to speech-language and audiological evaluations. Data were tabulated and statistical analyzes were performed using the Spearman Correlation Coefficient. In relation to the number of spelling errors in writing, these were similar in the TPD and APD groups, except for the contextual-arbitrary errors that were greater for the APD. Still, it was observed that the number of written spelling errors decreased with the increase in schooling. Concerning the average performance in phonological awareness, the TPD performed better than the APD in syllabic and phonemic awareness. The children of 4th and 5th grades presented better performance in phonological awareness than those in grades 1st to 3rd. The correlation was inversely proportional between the phonological awareness performance and the number of spelling errors (those that alter the syllabic structure) for both groups, demonstrating that the more errors of this type, the lower the performance in syllabic, phonemic and total phonological awareness.

AQUISIÇÃO FONOLÓGICA TÍPICA E ATÍPICA DO PADRÃO SILÁBICO CCV: DADOS ACÚSTICOS E ARTICULATÓRIOS

RESUMO O objetivo principal deste estudo é caracterizar a produção de palavras com as sílabas-alvo do tipo CCV e CV em crianças com desenvolvimento fonológico típico e atípico. As hipóteses foram: H1 - a produção de palavras-alvo com sílaba CV e CCV das crianças típicas apresentariam diferentes medidas ultrassonográficas e acústica; H2 - as medidas ultrassonográficas e acústica poderiam diferenciar a condição clínica das crianças; H3 - as crianças com produção atípica poderiam apresentar diferenças nas medidas ultrassonográficas e acústica entre os alvos CCV (sendo o tepe na posição de C2) e CV (CCV julgadas auditivamente como CV). Dez crianças gravaram palavras com as sílabas-alvo CCV e CV. Em seguida, foram feitas análise de oitiva, análise acústica e ultrassonográficas (razões entre ponta e lâmina da língua (PL/LL), ponta e dorso da língua (PL/DL), e a lâmina e dorso da língua (LL/DL)), sendo analisadas pela ANOVA de medidas repetidas. A H1 foi corroborada pelas razões entre PL/LL, PL/DL e LL/DL, indicando que as crianças típicas produzem maior elevação de ponta e lâmina de língua na sílaba-alvo CCV se comparado à sílaba-alvo CV. As H2 e H3 foram parcialmente confirmadas pelas razões entre PL/DL e LL/DL e entre PL/DL e LL/DL, respectivamente. Os resultados sugerem que as crianças com desenvolvimento típico parecem estar em direção da produção-alvo, já que, em CCV, ocorre maior elevação da PL e de duração se comparado à sílaba CV. Para as crianças atípicas, as razões entre a PL/DL mostram que têm elevação de ponta de língua em 18,23% nas sílabas-alvo CCV, enquanto na sílaba-alvo CV é de 13,58%, sugerindo a presença de elevação da PL para produzir o tepe com magnitude reduzida e a não sobreposição dos gestos do alvo CCV, bem como gestos indiferenciados.

Prevalence of phonological disorders and phonological processes in typical and atypical phonological development.

To determine the occurrence of phonological disorders by age, gender and school type, and analyze the phonological processes observed in typical and atypical phonological development across different age groups. The sample consisted of 866 children aged between 3:0 and 8:11 years, recruited from public and private schools in the city of Santa Maria/RS. A phonological evaluation was performed to analyze the operative phonological processes. 15.26% (n = 132) of the sample presented atypical phonological acquisition (phonological disorders). Phonological impairments were more frequent in public school students across all age groups. Phonological alterations were most frequent between ages 4 -to 6, and more prevalent in males than females in all but the youngest age group. The most common phonological processes in typical phonological acquisition were: cluster reduction; nonlateral liquid deletion in coda; nonlateral liquid substitution in onset; semivocalization of lateral liquids in coda; and unstressed syllable deletion. In children with phonological disorders, the most common phonological processes were: lateral and nonlateral liquid substitution in onset position; nonlateral liquid deletion; fronting of fricatives in onset position; unstressed syllable deletion; semivocalization of nonlateral liquid in coda; and nonlateral liquid deletion in coda position. Phonological processes were highly prevalent in the present sample, and occurred more often in boys than in girls. Information regarding the type and frequency of phonological processes in both typical phonological acquisition and phonological disorders may contribute to early diagnosis and increase the efficiency of treatment planning.

Atraso de linguagem e desvio fonológico: um continuum ou duas patologia distintas?

OBJETIVO: estudar e verificar se o desvio fonológico é um continuum do atraso de linguagem, ou seja, se crianças com desenvolvimento fonológico atípico possuíam anteriormente algum atraso no desenvolvimento de linguagem. MÉTODOS: os dados foram coletados e organizados em dois grupos, sendo o Grupo1 composto por 10 crianças com atraso de linguagem que realizaram terapia fonoaudiológica para estimulação e evoluíram após tratamento, sendo remanejados para o grupo de fala. Já o Grupo2 foi constituído por 554 sujeitos apresentando características de desvio fonológico e assim foram diagnosticados após realização das avaliações. RESULTADOS: os achados deste estudo não mostram associação significante entre sexo e hipótese diagnóstica, sendo que a distribuição entre meninos e meninas foi semelhante. Na análise realizada entre idade de surgimento das primeiras palavras também não foram encontrados resultados significantes. No entanto, na comparação realizada entre idade de surgimento das primeiras palavras e hipótese diagnóstica houve resultado significante, sendo a idade de surgimento no grupo com atraso de linguagem mais tardio do que nas demais hipóteses diagnósticas. CONCLUSÃO: os achados deste trabalho corroboram a literatura, no sentido de que o desvio fonológico se refere a uma alteração no nível fonológico apenas, não sendo considerado como um continuum do atraso de linguagem.

Optimality theory and assessment of developing and disordered phonologies

Optimality theory (OT) is a comparatively recent linguistic theory which has been introduced in the early 1990s. OT's description of children's error patterns as patterns that are derived from a hierarchy of conflicting universal constraints has much higher explanatory power than the underlying phonological representations posited by generative phonology which focused only on production. This tutorial article aims to introduce speech clinicians some information about the basic architecture and formalities of OT and highlights some of its advantages over rule-based generative approaches in different linguistic contexts. The article begins with a brief definition of (functional) phonological disorder and explains the basic components of OT and its proposed model of language development in relation to first language acquisition. Finally, the role of OT and standard generative phonology in the assessment of phonological errors produced by children with atypical phonological development is illustrated using empirical data based on Persian language.

Fatores intervenientes na produção correta da sílaba (c)vc em dados típicos e atípicos de fala

Este estudo teve como objetivo verificar a influência de variáveis linguísticas, silábicas e prosódicas, e extralinguísticas na produção correta da sílaba (C)VC em crianças com desenvolvimento fonológico típico e atípico. Analisaram-se os dados de fala de 36 crianças. Variáveis dependentes: produção correta da sílaba, epêntese, metátese, omissão da coda, omissão da sílaba e coalescência. Variáveis linguísticas intervenientes: tonicidade, número de sílabas, contexto silábico precedente, contexto silábico seguinte, posição na palavra, complexidade do onset da própria sílaba, complexidade segmental do elemento da coda e posição da sílaba (C)VC em relação ao pé métrico. Variáveis extralinguísticas: idade, sexo e tipo de aquisição fonológica. Os resultados apresentaram como relevantes à produção correta da sílaba travada para os dados de fala típicos: idade, sexo, tonicidade, posição na palavra, complexidade do onset da própria sílaba e complexidade segmental da coda. Com exceção da posição na palavra, as variáveis selecionadas para os dados atípicos foram as mesmas. O tipo de desenvolvimento fonológico foi selecionado, sendo identificado nos casos típicos maior frequência e probabilidade de produção correta da sílaba travada.

As variáveis intervenientes na produção do onset complexo mediante uma análise silábica

OBJETIVO: verificar e comparar as estratégias de reparo e a influência das variáveis linguísticas (silábicas e prosódicas) e extralinguísticas na produção da sílaba com Onset Complexo em crianças com desenvolvimento fonológico típico e atípico. MÉTODO: foi analisada a fala de 48 crianças, 24 com desenvolvimento fonológico típico e 24 com desenvolvimento fonológico atípico, equiparados em relação ao sexo, entre 2:6 a 5:5;29 (grupo típico) e 5:0 a 7:11;29 (grupo atípico). As amostras foram coletadas transversalmente, com base no instrumento Avaliação Fonológica da Criança. Foram analisadas palavras que apresentaram como alvo o onset complexo, com um corpus de 278 palavras do desenvolvimento típico e 460 do desenvolvimento atípico. Foram consideradas como variantes da variável dependente a produção correta, apagamento de C², apagamento de C¹, apagamento de sílaba, epêntese, metátese e idiossincrasias. Como variáveis independentes intervenientes consideraram-se os fatores extralinguísticos idade, sexo e tipo de desenvolvimento e as variáveis linguísticas tonicidade, número de sílabas, contexto silábico seguinte e precedente, posição na palavra, complexidade do onset na própria sílaba e pé métrico. Os dados de fala foram analisados estatisticamente por meio do VARBRUL. RESULTADO: o programa estatístico selecionou como significante para a produção correta e para os outros tipos de estratégias de reparo do onset complexo as variáveis sexo, idade, tipo de desenvolvimento, posição na palavra, pé métrico e contexto silábico seguinte. CONCLUSÃO: verificou-se que as variáveis linguísticas e extralinguísticas influenciam significantemente na produção do onset complexo em crianças com ambos os desenvolvimentos. A estratégia de reparo mais utilizada foi apagamento de C².

The recognition of frequent suffixes and the parsing of verb roots in 11-month-old infants

Studies on atypical phonological development are very limited for Arabic, and to date no studies on Arabic have investigated the development of phonology in children with conditions such as Down Syndrome. Arabic, like other Semitic languages, is rich in consonants and consonantal variation. However, it differs greatly from region to region, and so reports on individual dialects or regional dialects are necessary. Kuwaiti Arabic, the focus of the present paper, is similar to other dialects in the Gulf region.This is a preliminary study to examine the phonological development of school-aged Kuwaiti Arabic–speaking children with Down Syndrome in order to start to address the research gap noted above.Six Kuwaiti Arabic-speaking children were recruited for this pilot study from integrated public schools where children with disabilities and typically developing children are enrolled in the State of Kuwait: three male and three female students, age range of 5;10–12;3 years. All participants had the same single word speech test of 100 words. The first author, a native speaker of Kuwaiti Arabic, audio-recorded and phonetically transcribed the sample with the help of two speech-language pathologists from Kuwait. Reliability was confirmed by the first author and another expert rater. Both match and mismatch analyses were performed and compared to existing literature.Overall consonant accuracy across participants was 50%, with a variety of matches across consonant categories. However, the participants also exhibited a wide range of mismatches across positions in words and phonological features (place, manner, and laryngeal features). Place substitutions were the most frequent. Some sounds exhibited double (place and manner) mismatches. The most common word structure mismatch was consonant cluster reduction (no matches for word-initial clusters). Mismatch patterns resembled both those of normally developing Kuwaiti children and those of English speakers with Down Syndrome in certain ways.This pilot study provides preliminary information for clinicians regarding the speech or children with Down Syndrome (DS), not only in Kuwait but also in the Gulf region where there are similarities to Kuwaiti Arabic.

Evidence from /k/ versus /t/ burst spectra for variable lingual contact precision in normal versus atypical phonological development

Almost universally, phoneme inventories include at least one pair of lingual consonants contrasting an apical ‘‘front’’ contact to a dorsal ‘‘back’’ contact. Studies of infant productions across languages suggest that control of this contrast is acquired later than that between lingual and labial contact, and ‘‘velar fronting’’ (apparent substitution of /t/, /d/ for /k/, /g/) is a commonly observed pattern of functional misarticulation in English-acquiring children. This study uses spectral moments analysis of the burst to examine the patterns of emerging differentiation of alveolar and velar voiceless stops in eight pairs of preschool children with phonological disorder and normal age peers. Productions of four adults showed consistently higher skewness values and lower center of gravity for /k/ as compared to /t/. The children showed considerable intersubject variability, with some exaggerating the adult distinction and others showing substantial overlap. There was especially extreme overlap in the productions by children with ‘‘velar fronting.’’ However, the spectral moments values for these children did not suggest a categorical substitution. Instead, values were in the middle of the distribution on both dimensions, as if the child were making an ‘‘undifferentiated lingual gesture’’ [F. E. Gibbon, J. Speech. Hear. Language Res. 42, 382–397 (1999)]. [Work funded by NIDCD No. DC02932.]

Distinguishing between phonological difference and disorder in children who speak african-american vernacular english: An experimental testing instrument

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an experimental articulation testing instrument for differentiating child speakers of African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) with atypical and typical phonologies. Twenty-six AAVE-speaking children between the ages of 5:0 and 6:6 participated in the study. Based on their phonological skills in AAVE, the children were divided into two groups: typical and atypical. The experimental procedure was administered to each child and group performance on the instrument was contrasted. Significant group differences were observed thus suggesting that the experimental testing instrument can differentiate between AAVE-speaking children with typical and atypical phonological development between the ages tested. Observed error patterns are described and suggestions for further research are discussed.