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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

Methodological questions in studying consonant acquisition.

Jan Edwards¹, Mary E Beckman

¹Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI 53706, USA. jedwards2@wisc.edu

Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics

|November 26, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study examines consonant acquisition in young children learning diverse languages. Findings suggest improving elicitation and analysis methods for phonological research and clinical practice.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

Area of Science:

Linguistics
Speech-Language Pathology
Developmental Psychology

Background:

Consonant mastery is a key indicator of typical phonological development and disorders.
Research on consonant acquisition faces challenges in sample elicitation and analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

To address methodological questions in consonant acquisition research.
To review best practices for eliciting and analyzing consonant productions in young children across different languages.

Main Methods:

Examined word-initial consonant accuracy from transcriptions of isolated-word productions.
Included 2- and 3-year-old children learning English, Cantonese, Greek, and Japanese.
Considered factors like phonotactic probability and word length in list construction.

Main Results:

Identified item-related factors crucial for constructing effective word lists.
Highlighted the need for diverse language samples to represent varied consonant systems.
Proposed supplementing transcription with acoustic analysis and naive listener judgments.

Conclusions:

Researchers and clinicians should carefully select words for elicitation based on phonotactic probability and word length.
A multi-modal approach combining transcription, acoustic analysis, and perceptual judgments enhances accuracy in assessing consonant acquisition.