Phonological Development In Children Research Articles

Longitudinal profiles of late phonological development in children with Williams syndrome

Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by language skills above what is expected considering non-verbal intelligence. Research on phonological development is scarce, with many studies focusing on grammar in children and adolescents. In one of our previous studies transversally explored the profiles of late phonological development in Spanish-speaking WS children, adolescents, and adults, while our objective is to longitudinally determine these profiles for WS children based on present error indexes in spontaneous speech. Participants were seven WS children (aged 3;7–8;2), engaging in two spontaneous conversations within a 6-month interval. They were compared cross-sectionally with 240 typically developing (TD) children aged 3–6 years, divided into six groups. All speech samples were transcribed and analyzed with the CLAN software package of the CHILDES Project. Phonological profiles were established on the basis of phonological error indexes obtained dividing absolute frequency of errors by the total number of words produced. WS children showed a mean reduction of more than 25% in the absolute frequency of phonological errors after 6 months. As for the comparison with the normative groups, their error index was consistent with the stage of expansion in TD, however, after 6 months, this was consistent with the stage of stabilization. This atypical acceleration in phonological development could be related to lexical growth in the context of relative preservation of phonological memory. Furthermore, the trajectories of late phonological development in WS children might not be linear, as postulated by neuroconstructivist models, suggesting the need for intervention approaches specifically adapted to the phonological profiles of WS children.

Assessing the Phonological Abilities of Jordanian Arabic-speaking Children with Phonological Disorders

Objectives: This study investigated the validity of four language measures, i.e., phonological mean length of utterance (PMLU), the proportion of whole-word proximity (PWP), the proportion of whole-word correctness (PWC), and percentage of correct consonants, in assessing phonological development in Jordanian Arabic (JA) speaking children with phonological disorders in comparison with typically developing (TD) children.Methods: The study involved 88 monolingual JA-speaking children within the age range of 5 to 6 years, with 44 children diagnosed with phonological disorders and 44 TD children. Each group was further categorized into two age groups, namely 5;0-5;6 and 5,7-6,0. Data were gathered by observing the interactions between the children and their caregivers or parents using age-appropriate toys. A minimum of 100 utterances were collected from each participant.Results: The study found that TD children performed better than the children with phonological disorders on all measures, indicating delayed phonological performance in the phonological disorders group. Positive correlations between the measures were also observed, indicating their ability to provide significant information about children’s phonological abilities. Specific speech sound errors and substitution patterns exhibited by children with phonological disorders were identified, highlighting the motor control and articulatory challenges experienced by this group. Age was found to be a significant factor in the development of TD children, while children with phonological disorders showed similar scores across different age groups.Conclusion: These findings support the usage of the four measures for understanding phonological development in children with phonological disorders, accurately diagnosing them and tracking their progress.

Auditory Word Recognition Ability in Babble Noise and Phonological Development in Children at 3;6 Years of Age

ABSTRACT Background noise challenges auditory recognition of speech and may reveal the underlying deficits in auditory word recognition skills. Previous studies have reported an association between children’s auditory skills and various linguistic skills, including phonology, although in some languages only. However, language-specific features influence these connections. This study describes the associations between auditory word recognition ability and phonological skills in a representative group of 3;6-year-old children in less studied language, Finnish (N = 65). Auditory recognition was assessed using a closed-set word recognition task presented in multi-talker babble noise (+13 dB) and the phonological skills using Finnish Phonology Test. A significant, moderate correlation was found between Finnish-speaking children’s auditory word recognition and phonological skills. The late-developing phoneme /r/ challenged word recognition. The sibilant /s/ was noted to be the most noise resistant consonant, and the phoneme pair /r/ and /l/ created the most mutual confusion. The accuracy of phonological representations may be a moderating factor for both auditory recognition and phonological skills. Children with strong phonological skills may recognize spoken words more accurately in noisy everyday situations than children with weaker phonological skills. This should be taken into consideration in children’s daily environments, such as daycare centers and preschools.

Consonant Cluster Productions in Preschool Children Who Speak African American English.

The aim of this study was to compare word-initial and word-final consonant cluster productions in young children who speak African American English (AAE) and compare their productions to what we know about cluster productions in children who speak Mainstream American English (MAE), in order to minimize misdiagnosis of speech sound disorders. Twenty-two children (ages 2;10-5;4 [years;months]) labeled pictures whose names contained at least one consonant cluster in word-initial and/or word-final position. Most two-element clusters of English were sampled, the majority in two or more words. The participants' responses were transcribed using a consensus transcription procedure. Each cluster attempt was analyzed for its similarity with MAE. Percentage matching scores were significantly higher for word-initial than word-final clusters. Word-final clusters produced as singletons were significantly more common than word-final cluster substitutions. However, word-initial cluster substitutions were significantly more common than word-initial clusters produced as singletons. Word-initial cluster mismatches were consistent with markedness theory and the sonority sequencing principle (SSP). By contrast, word-final cluster mismatches were not consistent with the SSP, while the voicing generalization seen in adult speakers of AAE was evident. Culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment of phonological development in children who speak AAE requires an understanding of the contrastive and noncontrastive features exemplified in their consonant cluster productions.

문장 따라말하기 과제에서 3～7세 아동의 말소리발달

문장 따라말하기 과제에서 3～7세 아동의 말소리발달

Phonological acquisition and development in Putonghua-speaking children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ABSTRACT Poor phonological development adversely affects language development and interpersonal communication abilities in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, the characteristics of phonological development in children with ASD who speak Putonghua (the official standard spoken form of modern Mandarin Chinese) remain largely unknown. This study aims to investigate phonological acquisition and development among Putonghua-speaking children with ASD. Data were collected from participants recruited in Shanghai, China. Two experiments were conducted. In experiment I, phonological acquisition was compared between 16 children with ASD aged 3–6 years and 16 age-matched typically developing (TD) children. In experiment II, phonological acquisition was compared between 26 children with ASD over 6 years old and 26 receptive-language-age-matched TD children. Picture naming was applied to measure participants’ phonology – the 21 initials, 36 finals and four tones of Putonghua. Paired-samples t-tests and Fisher’s exact tests were applied. In experiment I, scores on initials, finals, tones and total phonology of children with ASD aged 3–6 years were significantly lower than those of age-matched TD children. The pronunciation accuracy rates for initials such as/x, th, l/, finals such as/jaʊ, joʊ, wo/ and Tone 3 (the low-rising tone) in the ASD group were significantly lower than in the TD group. In experiment II, there was no significant difference in overall phonological developmental level between children with ASD over 6 years old and receptive-language-age-matched TD children. Phonological development of Putonghua-speaking children with ASD was significantly lower than that of age-matched TD children but closer to that of receptive-language-age-matched TD children. Further, participants with ASD showed atypical development sequences in both initials and finals.

Phonological Development of Children With Speech Delay

A case research is a valuable means of providing information about the outcomes of speech and language intervention. The present research aims at documenting phonological development of three subjects who were enrolled in a therapy. This descriptive, cross-sectional research aimed to document the phonological development of speech delayed children whose ages are between 2-4 years. The focus is also to determine the causes and treatment of children with speech delay. The results showed significant changes in two of the subjects’ speech production-the two-year-old H displayed an ability to produce imitative sounds and non-imitative ones; meanwhile, the four-year-old AK also performed perfect imitative sounds, yet she cannot produce nasalized coda. The three-year-old AR, however, could not produce meaningful speech. Evaluation revealed development of the three subjects were affected by the exposure to language at home. A younger age child performed better during the therapy sessions compare to the one in older age whose delay might be caused by early neglect. Speech therapy emphasized on the importance of imitation through a modeling activity in the session, so that the children could imitate the sound first while providing context through pictures.

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.

Influence of Hindi Cartoons on the Language Development of Pakistani Urdu/English Schoolchildren

Not surprisingly, children expand their linguistic repertoire with the maturation of their cognition and their daily activities such as watching cartoons influence their language development. Many if not all parents fear that the Hindi cartoons are contaminating the linguistic repertoire of their children. Eventually, Pakistan Media Electronic Regularity Authority has banned Hindi dubbed cartoons. However, it is quite paradoxical that they always wish to improve the English language skills of their children but they have negative grounding towards the Hindi language. With this background in minds, the present study was carried out to examine the influence of some popular Hindi cartoons (such as Doraemon, Motu Patlu, and Chota Bheem) on the phonological development of children from middle and upper-middle class schools located in Lahore. By taking the Labovian apparent hypothesis as a theoretical lens, a sample of 84 Urdu/English bilinguals of different age groups was selected to investigate a prevalence of most commonly occurring phonological variants (such as /kʰ/ for /x/, /g/ for /ɣ/, / d ʒ/ for /z/, and /f/ for /pʰ/) in their speech. The study revealed that the influence of the Hindi phonology remained temporary on the language development of the participants. They were open to the usage of Hindi phonemes unless they developed alternatives phonological system in their first language (Urdu) and second and the most prestigious language (English). The participants who were around 10 years of age were found relatively less prone to using the Hindi phones. We may not rule out completely whether or not the above-mentioned phonological variants were part of their linguistic repertoire when they reached to puberty. It was observed, on the other hand, that some low-level phonological variations recycled invariably in the speech of the participants. Hence, the study suggests investigating these variations beyond this age bracket. The study takes a diametrically opposite stance and suggests an exposure to multilingual vocabulary as a correlate of cognitive development during the early childhood education.

Phonological development in children with different lexical skills

This study aims to evaluate phonological competences and their correlations with lexical abilities in 2-year-old Italian-speaking children. Eighty-eight children (46 females) aged 25–32 months participated in the study. From the total sample, three subgroups of children with different lexical skills were extracted to identify phonological characteristics of low, typical and precocious talkers. The results provide a description of the children’s production in terms of consonant and correct consonant inventories; simplified and unintelligible words; and simplification processes. The percentage of unintelligible productions and the number of correct consonants show greater correlations with lexical competence. Children with low vocabulary differ significantly from the other two groups in the percentage of unintelligible words and in consonant inventories. Children with advanced vocabulary show significantly less simplification processes than the other two groups. In addition to describing phonological characteristics in a large sample of young Italian children, this study allows us to identify potential phonological markers of late linguistic development

Word initial fricative production in children with cochlear implants and their normally hearing peers matched on lexicon size

ABSTRACTFricative production is affected in children with cochlear implants (CI) as compared to age-matched normally hearing (NH) children. However, the phonological development of children with CI is rarely compared to that of NH peers matched on lexicon size. We compare the early word initial fricative development of 10 children with CI and 30 NH children matched on lexicon size and on chronological age. Children with CI are expected to differ from their NH peers when they are matched on chronological age. But, are lexical development and phonological development commensurate in children with CI as they have been shown to be in NH children? Results show that fricative production in children with CI deviates from that of age-matched NH peers. The differences between both groups disappear when they were matched on lexicon size. Thus, phonological development in children with CI is similar to that of their NH peers with comparable lexicon sizes.

An Experimental Analysis of the Consonant Articulation Development of the Children in Multicultural Families and Its Implication to the Assessment of Their Language Development

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the standardized assessment of phonology designed for Korean monolingual children can also be applicable to the children in multicultural families. The data were collected using Kim et al.’s (2007) APAC(Assessment of Phonology & Articulation for Children) from the participants, ranging in age from 3 to 7, consisting of 21 Korean monolingual children and 21 children in multicultural families (Korean-Chinese, Philippine, Cambodian, Uzbek, Vietnamese, French or English). The results of this study indicated that while normal developmental error patterns were observed in the group of Korean monolingual children, non-developmental error patterns as well as developmental ones were observed in the group of children in multicultural families. However, the percent consonant correct did not exhibit the significantly big difference between two groups. These results contrast with those of previous studies on the children in multicultural families. This study shows that when the phonological development of children in multicultural families is evaluated through using a standardized monolingual assessment tool, its results should be interpreted with caution. It also shows that it is required to develop a language development assessment tool specified for those children.

Phonologische Entwicklung bei Kindern mit Cochleaimplantat(en)

Normal-hearing children show signs of various phonological processes during language development. These processes represent simplifications of articulation, which are overcome at different time points. For the German language, there are currently no reliable data regarding whether these developmental stages also apply to deaf children with cochlear implants (CI). Phonological development in deaf children with CI was examined and evaluated with the PLAKSS ("Psycholinguistischen Analyse kindlicher Sprechstörungen"). The results of this analysis (time of test1 =T1, n = 33) were compared to those of a PLAKSS diagnostic evaluation performed 1year previously (time of test0 =T0, n = 31). At T1, 76 % of the whole group showed a phonological development that did not correspond to their hearing age (as measured from the time of the first CI implantation). The most frequently observed phonological processes were the reduction of consonant clusters and fronting. However, 83 % of the group had fewer phonological processes inappropriate to their hearing age at T1 than they did at T0. The phonological development of children with CI is not equivalent to their hearing age and is structured differently to that of normal-hearing children.

Consciência fonológica e o desenvolvimento do sistema fonológico em crianças de escolas públicas e particulares

OBJETIVO: investigar a relação entre consciência fonológica e o desenvolvimento do sistema fonológico em crianças de escolas públicas e particulares. MÉTODO: participaram do estudo 120 crianças, de ambos os sexos, na faixa etária de dois a seis anos e onze meses, sendo 60 de escolas particulares e 60 de escolas públicas da Região Metropolitana do Recife. Utilizou-se como instrumentos de avaliação a Prova de Avaliação Fonológica e o Teste de Consciência Fonológica. Os responsáveis pelas crianças também responderam a um questionário psicossocial. Os dados da avaliação fonológica foram transcritos conforme o Alfabeto Fonético Internacional e analisados segundo a teoria dos processos fonológicos. RESULTADOS: análises iniciais não revelaram diferenças significantes entre os alunos das escolas públicas e particulares, assim como entre os sexos. Os processos fonológicos mais frequentes foram: simplificação de encontro consonantal, simplificação de líquida e simplificação de consoante final. Observou-se a diferença entre as idades de eliminação de alguns processos, em relação à descrição da literatura, o que possivelmente reflete a influência da variedade linguística. Em relação à consciência fonológica, foi verificada uma evolução em função do avanço na idade. Foi observada uma correlação negativa entre alguns processos fonológicos e as habilidades metafonológicas. CONCLUSÃO: o tipo de escolaridade, isoladamente, não foi uma variável que estava influenciando o desenvolvimento das habilidades metafonológicas e do sistema fonológico. Tais habilidades se desenvolvem paralelamente e estão relacionadas ao desenvolvimento fonológico. É necessário que novos estudos sejam realizados buscando conhecer melhor a relação entre habilidades metalinguísticas e o desenvolvimento da linguagem oral.

Global and local pitch perception in children with developmental dyslexia

This study investigated global versus local pitch pattern perception in children with dyslexia aged between 8 and 11years. Children listened to two consecutive 4-tone pitch sequences while performing a same/different task. On the different trials, sequences either preserved the contour (local condition) or they violated the contour (global condition). Compared to normally developing children, dyslexics showed robust pitch perception deficits in the local but not the global condition. This finding was replicated in a simple pitch direction task, which minimizes sequencing and short term memory. Results are consistent with a left-hemisphere deficit in dyslexia because local pitch changes are supposedly processed by the left hemisphere, whereas global pitch changes are processed by the right hemisphere. The present data suggest a link between impaired pitch processing and abnormal phonological development in children with dyslexia, which makes pitch pattern processing a potent tool for early diagnosis and remediation of dyslexia.

Phonological development in children learning Finnish: A review

The language to which children are exposed has been shown to have a direct effect on their early phonological development. Despite a growing body of data from cross-linguistic studies and studies on phonological development in various language environments, English still often serves as a benchmark for comparative studies. This article reviews general trends in phonological development and compares them with the latest studies on children acquiring Finnish. The main goal is to explore the course and timing of the development in children acquiring Finnish by bringing together recent research from phonemic inventories and phonotactics, including word length acquisition. Key developmental steps of phonological development are identified and directions for future research are recommended.

Lexical and phonological development in children with childhood apraxia of speech – a commentary on Stoel-Gammon's ‘Relationships between lexical and phonological development in young children’*

Although not the focus of her article, phonological development in young children with speech sound disorders of various types is highly germane to Stoel-Gammon's discussion (this issue) for at least two primary reasons. Most obvious is that typical processes and milestones of phonological development are the standards and benchmarks against which we measure disorder and delay. Factors that impact children without disorders may suggest underlying causes or co-occurring symptoms of speech sound deficits, prognostic indicators of improvement, appropriate remediation strategies or some combination of these. Equally important is the fact that studying children with disorders can help us to verify and, in some cases, even unpack relationships among factors that are so closely interwoven in children who develop their phonologies at the typically very rapid rate that their individual influences cannot be discerned. Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a particularly interesting case in point because, while it is universally accepted to be a motor speech disorder, symptoms include deficits in speech perception and often in literacy-related skills as well.

Phonological patterns in Mandarin–English bilingual children

Adele Miccio recognized the paucity of information on the phonological development of children from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and emphasized the need to apply advances in bilingual phonological research toward an appropriate phonological measure for bilingual children. In the spirit of her pioneering work, the present study investigated both Mandarin and English phonological patterns in typically-developing 5-year-old bilingual children in an English-immersion programme in Taiwan. Consonant and vowel accuracy, number and types of phonological processes, and Mandarin-influenced English patterns were assessed on a single-word assessment in each language. Results indicated comparable levels of phoneme accuracy and similar rates and types of phonological processes for bilinguals and their monolingual counterparts. A number of English phonological processes for bilinguals, however, suggested a possible Mandarin influence. The present results reiterate Dr Miccio's call for interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance one's understanding of bilingual language development, to advance successful intervention for bilingual children.

Phonological development in children with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing

Adeno-tonsillar hypertrophy with obstructive sleep disordered breathing (OSDB) is known to affect oral-motor function, behaviour, and academic performance. Adeno-tonsillectomy is the most frequently performed operation in children, with total tonsillectomy (TE) being more common than partial resection, ‘tonsillotomy’ (TT). In the present study 67 children, aged 50–65 months, with OSBD were randomized to TE or TT. The children's phonology was assessed pre-operatively and 6 months post-operatively. Two groups of children served as controls. Phonology was affected in 62.7% of OSBD children before surgery, compared to 34% in the control group (p < .001). Also, OSBD children had more severe phonological deficits than the controls (p < .001). Phonology improved 6 months equally after both surgeries. Despite improvement post-operatively, the gap to the controls increased. Other functional aspects, such as oral motor function, were normalized regardless of surgical method—TE or TT. The impact of OSBD should be considered as one contributing factor in phonological impairment.

Fortition and lenition patterns in the acquisition of obstruents by children with cochlear implants

This paper investigates patterns of error production in 10 children who use cochlear implants, focusing specifically on the acquisition of obstruents. Two broad patterns of production errors are investigated, fortition (or strengthening) errors and lenition (or weakening) errors. It is proposed that fortition error patterns tend to be related to the process of phonological development, because they are involved with universal implications and notions of markedness. Lenition error patterns, on the other hand, show more context‐sensitive effects and reflect properties related to minimization of articulatory effort. The relationship between fortition and markedness is demonstrated in an optimality theoretic analysis, and it is further demonstrated that the observed characteristics of phonological development in children with cochlear implants are similar to those exhibited by children with normal hearing.