Word-initial /r/-clusters in Icelandic-speaking children with protracted versus typical phonological development

Rhotics are generally acquired late across languages (Jiménez, 1987; Tar, 2006; Blumenthal and Lundeborg, 2014). Prior research suggests some possible differences in acquisition across languages, however (Másdóttir and Stokes, 2016). The current study set out to examine acquisition of /r/ in Icelandic, focusing primarily on match (accuracy) and mismatch data for word-initial (WI) /r/-clusters, but also comparing /r/-clusters with WI singleton /r/ and /l/ plus /l/-clusters. Single-word data were collected for 27 Icelandic-speaking preschoolers with protracted phonological development (PPD) and compared with data from age- and gender-matched typically developing peers. Results showed lower match levels for clusters versus singletons, /r/ versus /l/ and the children with PPD. Most frequent substitutions were approximant [ð̞] and [l]. Younger children with PPD showed more deletion in clusters and a greater variety of substitutions for both consonants. The data support general cross-linguistic trends in rhotic acquisition with the [ð̞] substitution being one difference.