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Lexical constraints in phonological acquisition
J A Gierut1, M L Morrisette, A H Champion
1Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, 200 South Jordan Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. gierut@indiana.edu
Journal of Child Language
|November 15, 2001
Summary
Word frequency significantly aids phonological acquisition in children with speech sound disorders. Dense word neighborhoods, however, showed minimal impact on sound change, suggesting frequency is key for speech development.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Developmental Psychology
- Speech-Language Pathology
Background:
- Lexical diffusion studies how sound changes spread across words.
- Understanding factors influencing phonological acquisition is crucial for intervention.
- Word frequency and neighborhood density are key lexical variables hypothesized to affect sound change.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of word frequency and neighborhood density in facilitating phonological sound change.
- To examine lexical diffusion in children with functional phonological delays.
Main Methods:
- An alternating treatments experiment was conducted with twelve children (aged 3;0 to 7;4) with phonological delays.
- Independent variables included high/low word frequency and high/low neighborhood density.
- Generalization accuracy in production served as the dependent measure.
Main Results:
- Word frequency was found to be the most facilitative factor in promoting sound change.
- Dense neighborhood structure was the least facilitative, showing minimal impact.
- Differential effects were observed based on the type of phonological change (phonetic vs. phonemic).
Conclusions:
- Word frequency plays a significant role in lexical diffusion and phonological acquisition.
- Children's phonological development may involve avoiding dense neighborhoods.
- Findings inform interactive language processing models and Optimality Theory in linguistics.
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