Phonological Process Occurrence in Typically Developing Toddlers

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The study examined the phonological development in Cypriot Greek (CG)-speaking, typically developing (TD) toddlers for the purpose of observing occurrences of initial consonant deletion (ICD), regressive assimilation (RAS), and their interactive relationship as a function of time. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Subjects were 8 CG-speaking TD toddlers assessed longitudinally at ages 24-28 and 32-36 months. Word targets from spontaneously produced utterances via language sample collection were analyzed for the percentage of occurrence of ICD and RAS. RESULTS: Results revealed a significant change of phonological process occurrence as a function of time as well as an antagonistic relationship between ICD and correct onset production. Comparisons between measures showed that trisyllabic (three-syllable) words exhibited higher rates of ICD than disyllabic words. CONCLUSIONS: Early patterns of phonological development and phonological assessment should include a hierarchical account of phonological behavior in the form of word structure shapes and a possible interaction among phonological process occurrence.