Child Language Acquisition Phonological Development Phonological development This

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Child Language Acquisition Phonological Development

Child Language Acquisition Phonological Development

Phonological development … • This lecture deals with how children develop the ability to

Phonological development … • This lecture deals with how children develop the ability to use and understand the sounds of language.

The first year … • The phonological development that occurs during the first year

The first year … • The phonological development that occurs during the first year of a child’s life was outlined last week: ü Crying ü Cooing ü Babbling ü Phonemic expansion and contraction

Be careful … • Be careful not to make sweeping generalisations when talking about

Be careful … • Be careful not to make sweeping generalisations when talking about later phonological development. • Order in which vowels and consonants are acquired varies from child to child. • Sometimes children appear to have mastered a sound in one word, but then not in another.

General trends … • Age 2 ½ : all vowels and 2/3 of consonants

General trends … • Age 2 ½ : all vowels and 2/3 of consonants mastered. • Age 4: difficulty with only a few consonants. • Age 6 -7: confident use.

General trends … • Consonants are first used correctly at the beginnings of words.

General trends … • Consonants are first used correctly at the beginnings of words. • Consonants at the end of words present more difficulty. • Example: ‘push’ versus ‘rip’

General trends … • Frequency: generally, sounds which occur frequently in a large number

General trends … • Frequency: generally, sounds which occur frequently in a large number of words will be acquired before sounds that occur less frequently.

Making words easier (phonemic simplification) … • Deletion • Final consonants may be dropped.

Making words easier (phonemic simplification) … • Deletion • Final consonants may be dropped. • Unstressed syllables are often deleted. • Consonant clusters are reduced.

Making words easier (phonemic simplification) … • Substitution • Easier sounds are substituted for

Making words easier (phonemic simplification) … • Substitution • Easier sounds are substituted for harder ones: • ‘r’ becomes ‘w’ • ‘th’ becomes ‘d’, ‘n’ or ‘f’ • ‘t’ becomes ‘d’ • ‘p’ becomes ‘b’

Understanding … • Remember: last week we learned that comprehension is often ahead of

Understanding … • Remember: last week we learned that comprehension is often ahead of speech (e. g. first words). • The same can be true in phonological development.

Berko and Brown (1960) … • • • Child: fis Adult: This if your

Berko and Brown (1960) … • • • Child: fis Adult: This if your fis? Child: No-my fis. Adult: Oh, this is your fish. Child: Yes, my fis.

Berko and Brown (1960) … • Child with indistinguishable pronunciation of: ü mouse/mouth ü

Berko and Brown (1960) … • Child with indistinguishable pronunciation of: ü mouse/mouth ü cart/card ü jug/duck • Could point to corresponding pictures in a comprehension task.

Intonation … • As a child grows older, a wider range of meanings is

Intonation … • As a child grows older, a wider range of meanings is expressed through intonation. • Example: two-word stage: • ‘my car’ versus ‘MY car’

Intonation … • Although intonation patterns can be reproduced from an early stage, understanding

Intonation … • Although intonation patterns can be reproduced from an early stage, understanding of their meaning is still developing into the teenage years.

Cruttenden (1974) … • Football results. • Intonation used in first team’s score enabled

Cruttenden (1974) … • Football results. • Intonation used in first team’s score enabled adults to accurately predict home win, away win or draw. • Children (aged 7 -11): youngest were largely unsuccessful and oldest were significantly less successful than adults.

New vocabulary … • Phonemic simplification • Deletion • Substitution

New vocabulary … • Phonemic simplification • Deletion • Substitution