Acquisition and Acoustic Patterns of Southern American English /l/ in Young Children

Autor/in	Chung, Hyunju
Titel	Acquisition and Acoustic Patterns of Southern American English /l/ in Young Children
Quelle	In: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63 (2020) 8, S.2609-2624 (16 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Chung, Hyunju)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1092-4388
Schlagwörter	North American English; Accuracy; Phonetics; Dialects; Speech Communication; Preschool Children; Age Differences; Acoustics; Articulation (Speech); Language Acquisition; Geographic Regions; Phonemics; Intelligence Tests; Verbal Ability; Vocabulary; Speech Tests; Scores; Pronunciation; Louisiana; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test; Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Amerikanisches Englisch; Phonetik; Fonetik; Dialect; Dialekt; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Akustik; Sprachaneignung; Spracherwerb; Fonemsystem; Intelligence test; Intelligenztest; Mündliche Leistung; Wortschatz; Sprechtest; Aussprache
Abstract	Purpose: The aim of the current study was to examine /l/ developmental patterns in young learners of Southern American English, especially in relation to the effect of word position and phonetic contexts. Method: Eighteen children with typically developing speech, aged between 2 and 5 years, produced monosyllabic single words containing singleton /l/ in different word positions (pre- vs. postvocalic /l/) across different vowel contexts (high front vs. low back) and cluster /l/ in different consonant contexts (/pl, bl/ vs. /kl, gl/). Each production was analyzed for its accuracy and acoustic patterns as measured by the first two formant frequencies and their difference (F1, F2, and F2-F1). Results: There was great individual variability in /l/ acquisition patterns, with some 2- and 3-year-olds reaching 100% accuracy for prevocalic /l/, while others were below 70%. Overall, accuracy of prevocalic /l/ was higher than that of postvocalic /l/. Acoustic patterns of pre- and postvocalic /l/ showed greater differences in younger children and less apparent differences in 5-year-olds. There were no statistically significant differences between the acoustic patterns of /l/ coded as perceptually acceptable and those coded as misarticulated. There was also no apparent effect of vowel and consonant contexts on /l/ patterns. Conclusion: The accuracy patterns of this study suggest an earlier development of /l/, especially prevocalic /l/, than has been reported in previous studies. The differences in acoustic patterns between pre- and postvocalic /l/, which become less apparent with age, may suggest that children alter the way they articulate /l/ with age. No significant acoustic differences between acceptable and misarticulated /l/, especially postvocalic /l/, suggest a gradient nature of /l/ that is dialect specific. This suggests the need for careful consideration of a child's dialect/language background when studying /l/. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01