Singleton consonant onset acquisition in monolingual Granada Spanish-speaking preschoolers with typical versus protracted phonological development: Impacts of word structure and feature constraints.

While consonant acquisition clearly requires mastery of different articulatory configurations (segments), sub-segmental features and suprasegmental contexts influence both order of acquisition and mismatch (error) patterns (Bérubé, Bernhardt, Stemberger & Ciocca, 2020). Constraints-based nonlinear phonology provides a comprehensive framework for investigating the impact of sub- and suprasegmental impacts on acquisition (Bernhardt & Stemberger, 1998). The current study adopted such a framework in order to investigate these questions for Granada Spanish. Single-word samples of monolingual preschoolers in Granada (29 typically developing; 30 with protracted phonological development) were transcribed by native Spanish speakers in consultation with an international team. Beta regression analyses showed significant effects of age, developmental group, and word structure variables (word length, stress, position of consonants and syllables within the word); salience, markedness and/or frequency across the phonological hierarchy accounted for many patterns. The study further demonstrates the impacts of sub- and suprasegmental constraints of the phonological system on consonant acquisition.

Consonant cluster acquisition in Chilean children with typical and protracted phonological development.

The current study addresses the acquisition of tautosyllabic consonant clusters (CCs) in Chilean preschoolers with typical (TD) versus protracted phonological development (PPD). The objectives were to analyze accuracy of CCs and mismatch (error) patterns as a function of age (4/ 5 years) and TD/PPD group, examining effects of sonority, stress, place of articulation and development of /l/ and /ɾ/ as singletons. Participants included 20 Chilean Spanish-speaking children with TD and 20 with PPD (ages 4 and 5 years). The TD group showed higher accuracy and an age effect. For both developmental groups, timing unit match was higher than full segmental match. CCs with labial and voiceless C1s in stressed syllables were most accurate. In the PPD group, deletions predominated over substitutions, deletions of C1 were significantly higher and the typology of substitutions was more differentiated. Results are evaluated in light of previous research on Chilean preschoolers, and clinical implications are discussed.

Estudio preliminar sobre patrones fonológicos según la fonología no lineal de niños chilenos de entre 3. 0 y 3. 11 años con Desarrollo Fonológico prolongado (DFP) / A preliminary study about phonological patterns according to the non-linear phonology of chilean children between 3. 0 and 3. 11 years with Protracted Phonological Development (PPD)

El Desarrollo Fonológico Prolongado (DFP) presenta patrones de simplificación que persisten más allá de la edad esperada, disminuyendo la inteligibilidad en los niños (Dubasik & Ingram, 2013). En el presente trabajo se describen los patrones fonológicos, según la Fonología No Lineal, en niños chilenos de entre 3.0 y 3.11 años con DFP. Este objetivo surgió de la necesidad de conocer los patrones suprasegmentales y segmentales de niños chilenos con DFP, puesto que no se ha realizado un estudio basado en la Teoría No Lineal en la población chilena. La muestra estuvo conformada por cinco niños pertenecientes a jardines infantiles de la Región de Valparaíso, Chile. A estos niños se les aplicó la Lista de Palabras del Español, obteniendo un corpus de 500 palabras. Este fue analizado a través de las medidas suprasegmentales Whole Word Match (WWM) o coincidencia de la palabra completa, Word Shape Match (WSM) o coincidencia de la estructura de la palabra, patrones acentuales; y medidas segmentales, en Porcentaje de Consonantes Correctas (PCC). Como resultado se obtuvo que los niños con DFP presentan puntajes altos en patrones acentuales (99.2%), pero muestran una alteración en las medidas de WWM, con un 52.2% de aciertos; WSM, con un 73.4%, y PCC, con un 89.2%. En consecuencia, se evidenció alteración suprasegmental y segmental en niños con DFP, pues los valores obtenidos no coinciden con el Desarrollo Típico (DT) observados en otras investigaciones.

Protracted Phonological Development (PPD) features phonological patterns that persist beyond expected during development, decreasing intelligibility (Dubasik & Ingram, 2013). This study aims at describing the phonological patterns in Chilean children (3.0 to 3.11 years of age) with PPD, within the Nonlinear Phonology background. This objective sprung from the need to study the suprasegmental and segmental patterns of Chilean children with PPD, given that no research has been conducted based on the Nonlinear Theory among Chilean children. The sample consisted of 5 Chileanchildren. They had all been diagnosed with PPD and attended kindergartens in Valparaíso, Chile. These children were administered the Spanish Word List, which allowed to obtain a corpus of 500 words. The corpus was later analyzed by means of the suprasegmental measures: i.e.: Whole Word Match (WWM), Word Shape Match (WSM) and segmental measures, expressed in Percentage of Correct Consonants (PCC). Results showed that these children with PPD performed high on accent patterns (99.2%), but at deficit levels on the WWM measures (with 52.2% of correct answers), on the WSM measures (with 73.4%), and on PCC measures (with 89.2%). Consequently, this research provides empirical evidence regarding suprasegmental and segmental alterations in children with PPD, since the values herein obtained are not aligned with the Typical Development (TD) observed in other studies.

Word-initial rhotic clusters in Spanish-speaking preschoolers in Chile and Granada, Spain.

The current paper describes Spanish acquisition of rhotic onset clusters. Data are also provided on related singleton taps/trills and /l/ as a singleton and in clusters. Participants included 9 typically developing (TD) toddlers and 30 TD preschoolers in Chile, and 30 TD preschoolers and 29 with protracted phonological development (PPD) in Granada, Spain. Results showed age and developmental group effects. Preservation of cluster timing units preceded segmental accuracy, especially in stressed syllables. Tap clusters versus singleton trills were variable in order of mastery, some children mastering clusters first, and others, the trill. Rhotics were acquired later than /l/. In early development, mismatches (errors) involved primarily deletion of taps; where substitutions occurred, [j] frequently replaced tap. In later development, [l] more frequently replaced tap; where taps did occur, vowel epenthesis sometimes occurred. The data serve as a criterion reference database for onset cluster acquisition in Chilean and Granada Spanish.

A Spanish pilot investigation for a crosslinguistic study in protracted phonological development.

A crosslinguistic study is underway concerning children's protracted phonological development (i.e. speech sound disorders). The current article reports pilot Spanish data for this study from two 4-year-old boys with protracted phonological development. The purposes of the pilot study were to: (1) develop and evaluate a word list for elicitation that could be used across Spanish dialects and that sufficiently sampled Spanish word lengths, stress patterns, word shapes and phonemes; and (2) to derive hypotheses for the larger study, based on patterns found in these children's speech, and a review of the literature. The two speakers showed some developmental patterns reported for other languages (e.g. constraints on production of liquids and word-initial consonants in unstressed syllables) but also patterns that may reflect Spanish phonological inventories, allophony and frequencies. These data helped consolidate the Spanish word list for elicitation and led to questions for the ongoing study concerning word structure, multisyllabic words, liquids, fricatives and vowel sequences.