Aspects of Stop Consonant Production by Pediatric Users of Cochlear Implants

Data and analyses are reported for stop consonant production by 12 children who have used cochlear implants for at least 5 years, focusing on variation within and between individual phonological systems.

Participants were 6 oral communication users and 6 total communication users. Productions of single words were analyzed for stop inventories, phonotactic constraints, and morphophonemic alternations. Variation was further analyzed within optimality theory.

Children's inventories differed from English mainly in having additional, non-English stops. Total communication users had fewer ambient stops and more nonambient ones than did oral communication users. Control over English allophonic and neutralization rules varied among children. Phonological variation could be accounted for by positing unique underlying representations and different constraint rankings within optimality theory.

Atypical speech by children with cochlear implants involves both articulation and phonological organization. Although children vary considerably, characteristic patterns emerge. An understanding of these patterns is useful for identifying areas of difficulty and formulating intervention programs.