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Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

06:48
Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: June 25, 2019
Generalizing over Lexicons to Predict Consonant Mastery.
Laboratory Phonology
|November 30, 2010
Summary
Children's early consonant errors show common patterns across languages, yet individual variability exists. This study links these patterns to how sound changes affect word frequencies in a child's lexicon.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Developmental Psychology
- Phonology
Background:
- Children exhibit characteristic consonant errors during early speech acquisition.
- These errors often resemble historical sound changes, with commonalities observed across diverse language learners.
- However, significant variability exists among children, potentially linked to lexical consonant frequencies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reconcile observed commonalities and variability in children's consonant errors.
- To investigate the role of lexical consonant frequency in early speech sound development.
- To explore how sound change mechanisms might influence these frequencies.
Main Methods:
- Correlational analyses were performed on toddler speech recordings from Cantonese, English, Greek, and Japanese language groups.
- Consonant accuracy data was compared against two frequency measures: lexicon-specific and cross-linguistic average.
- Statistical relationships between accuracy and frequency were assessed.
Main Results:
- Generally positive trends were observed between consonant accuracy and frequency measures.
- The strength of these trends varied across different measures and languages.
- Numerous outliers indicated historical contingencies influencing developmental paths.
Conclusions:
- Lexical consonant frequency plays a role in shaping children's early sound error patterns.
- The interplay between sound change and frequency contributes to both commonalities and variability in child phonology.
- Developmental trajectories in speech acquisition can be contingent and unpredictable, akin to evolutionary processes.
