Investigating the Relationships Among Phonological Awareness, Morphological Awareness, and Vocabulary in...

This study aimed to examine the phonological awareness (PA), morphological awareness (MA), and vocabulary skills of preschool children with speech sound disorders (SSD), as well as the relationships among these three skills-known to be critical for literacy development-within the context of Turkish, a morphologically rich and phonologically transparent language.

Thirty children (17 boys and 13 girls, aged 48-72 months; M = 63.03, SD = 7.79) with SSD participated. Parental consent was obtained using the History Form. Children were assessed with the Turkish School-Age Language Development Test subtests (Picture, Relational, and Oral Vocabulary, Morphological Completion) and the Turkish Articulation and Phonology Test subtests (Articulation Screening Test, Auditory Discrimination Test) for SSD. PA was assessed using the Turkish Phonological Awareness Test. All assessments were face to face.

Preschool children with SSD showed heterogeneous performance across PA, MA, and vocabulary measures. A statistically significant strong positive correlation was observed between children's MA skills and PA skills at the word, rhyme, and syllable levels (r = .50-.79). A strong positive correlation was found between children's ability to generate oral definitions (an expressive vocabulary skill) and MA skills (r = .68, 95% CI [0.42, 0.84], p < .001). In addition, a moderate positive correlation was observed between children's ability to orally express relationships between spoken stimulus words (relational vocabulary) and MA skills (r = .51, 95% CI [0.18, 0.73], p < .01).

This study demonstrates strong relationships among MA, PA, and vocabulary in Turkish-speaking preschool children with SSD, highlighting the interconnected nature of these skills in early language and literacy development.