Child speech developmental norms in Greek monolinguals: whole word and consonant accuracy.

Child phonological development in standard Greek is aptly represented by both single-case and cross-sectional studies. While some quantitative measures exist, such as the 75% criterion in the acquisition of singletons and clusters, reported norms require replication to fine-tune existing indicators, inform non-existent ones, and better reflect children's typical developmental speech in contemporary Greece. Our cross-sectional study addresses this gap, in terms of consonant inventory acquisition, and percentage accuracy of words, singletons, clusters, and cluster reductions. Phonological Assessment for Greek (PAel) procedures facilitated data elicitation from 254 Greek-speaking participants, aged 2;0-7;0, equally represented for gender. Our study comprehensively informs quantitative norms on whole word accuracy (WWA), percentage of consonants correct (PCC), PCC variation across the different age groups of children, and the WWA-PCC correlation along the developmental path in this cross-sectional study. A schematic representation models children's normative PCC-WWA profiles, facilitating the determination of phonological disorder in Greek with direct clinical application on diagnosis and intervention.

Phonological delay of segmental sequences in a Greek child's speech.

This paper investigates persistent elements of protracted phonological development (PPD) at ages 5;10 and 6;3 in a monolingual Greek girl's speech following earlier articulation intervention (3;6) and post-intervention assessment (4;3). The re-assessment data examined here, five months apart, were elicited using the Phonological Assessment for Greek (PAel). Results reveal interesting idiosyncratic patterns in the production of segmental sequences (VV, CC) in complex syllables and longer words, with a striking imbalance between singletons and sequences, which holds especially true for inconsistency in the acquisition of /ɾ/ across CV, CC, and C.C contexts. Phonological delay surfaces as chronological mismatches, idiosyncratic forms and, most notably, disparity between segmental and structural development.

Correlation between the measure for cluster proximity (MCP) and the percentage of consonants correct (PCC).

A measure was recently proposed for the quantitative evaluation of consonant clusters in child developmental speech, the measure for cluster proximity (MCP). Its advantage over the widely used measure of the percentage of consonants correct (PCC) is that it differentiates the three main stages of cluster production: reduction, vowel epenthesis, and two-members, correct or not. The purpose of the present article is two-fold: a) to contrast MCP and PCC in two-member word-initial clusters produced within children with speech sound disorders (SSDs), tested before and after therapy, as well as in running speech within typically developing children, and b) to examine the correlation between the two measures across children in typical or atypical speech development. Data used are comprised of 34 sets with 18 word-initial cluster types, taken from the speech samples of 18 children. It is found that while there are generally large deviations between the two measures in individual clusters within and between children, the measures have a strong and statistically significant correlation when averaged over all clusters per child, or over all children per cluster class based on the manner of articulation. For the data at hand, a linear equation is obtained yielding MCP values from PCC values with a high coefficient of determination. The results suggest that PCC norms that are used to assess consonants can be used to predict MCP norms in order to assess consonant clusters in child developmental speech.

Measuring word-final consonant clusters in developmental child speech.

The correlation between the measure for cluster proximity (MCP) and the percentage of consonants correct (PCC) for word-initial two-member consonant clusters was recently found in the literature to be strong and statistically significant in developmental child speech. Because of this, MCP norms that quantitatively define stages in cluster development (omission, reduction, vowel epenthesis, and two-member production with a distinction on member accuracy) can be predicted from PCC norms that only measure cluster-member accuracy. In the present study, this investigation is extended to word-final two-member clusters for the purpose of examining whether the correlation between MCP and PCC is also strong and statistically significant as well as comparing stage performance between word-initial and word-final clusters using the MCP measure. The study employs 31 speech samples from 18 children, 16 in atypical and 2 in typical development. The results show that the correlation between MCP and PCC for word-final clusters is as strong and as statistically significant as for word-initial clusters. Furthermore, the correlation between word-initial and word-final MCP is also positive, but somewhat weak. Nevertheless, it indicates that word-final clusters as a whole may be developing earlier than word-initial clusters.

A phonological assessment test for child Greek.

This 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.

The acquisition of English possessives by a bilingual child: Do input and usage frequency matter?

Previous research in child language shows that many aspects of language acquisition are frequency-linked. This study tests whether input or usage frequency predicts the order of acquisition and accuracy of a bilingual Greek-English child's English possessives. The child was followed longitudinally from age 2;6 to 3;11. Order of acquisition was comparable to that of same-aged monolingual children. The child's usage frequency and order of acquisition were highly correlated with input frequency, while her accuracy was not. We argue that the child's already-acquired Greek possessives facilitated acquisition of English possessives, even though the child's English input and usage frequencies were lower than in monolingual English children.

A measure for cluster proximity (MCP) in child speech.

The proximity of consonant clusters in child speech is measured in the literature by the proportion of adult-like produced clusters to targeted clusters. With this measure, all clusters that are produced adult-like score 100%, while all others score 0%. Consonant clusters in child speech go through three main developmental stages: omission, reduction, two-member production (as targeted or substituted). Several authors claim that two-member clusters produced as two members should be considered acquired whether realised as targeted or not. In view of all these, a measure is needed that quantitatively differentiates all possible realisations of two-member clusters: omission, reduction, vowel epenthesis, two-member production, distinguishing substituted consonants from adult-like ones. Such a measure is proposed in the present article. To demonstrate its validity, the measure is applied to cluster productions of typically and atypically developing monolingual and bilingual children cross-linguistically. Moreover, it is applied to a bilingual Greek-English child's consonant clusters at age 2;7, when all cluster realisations are present. The aim is for the measure to be used in establishing norms for each stage in cluster development which will, in turn, guide assessment and intervention in phonologically delayed/disordered children.

Added syllable complexity in a child's developmental speech and clinical implications.

Added syllable complexity, whereby a non-targeted consonant is added next to a targeted consonant in the syllable, has received relatively little attention in studies of children with speech sound disorders (SSD) and typically developing children. Despite the scarcity and subtlety of the pattern, evidence in child and adult data indicates universality. The present article examines the pattern in a bilingual child's longitudinal speech in English from age 2;7 to 4;0, focusing on word-initial consonant addition. The purpose is to identify phonological and psycholinguistic processes associated with the pattern. It is suggested that the complexity pattern with both legal and illegal outputs is a systemic developmental behaviour linked to the child's level of phonological acquisition, facilitating acquisition of the complex CCV rule as well as of non-acquired singleton consonants. Implications of the results for children's SSD intervention techniques and for adult degenerative speech are discussed.