Development and validation of a phonological screening procedure for Chilean Spanish based on the Whole Word Match...

This study aimed to validate the Prueba de Fonología del Español (PFE) for Chilean Spanish and to identify a reduced subset of words suitable for phonological screening based on the Whole Word Match (WWM) measure. The sample comprised 152 monolingual children aged 3;0-6;11, including 72 typically developing (TD) and 80 with protracted phonological development (PPD). All participants completed the 100-word PFE and the Test para Evaluar Procesos Fonológicos de Simplificación - Revisado (TEPROSIF-R). WWM scores were computed for each production to quantify word-level accuracy. The results confirmed the concurrent validity of the PFE through significant correlations with TEPROSIF-R outcomes and revealed differentiation between TD and PPD groups across all ages. A subset of 26 words demonstrated high discriminant potential (r > .90) and reflected a balanced representation of Chilean Spanish phonological structure, stress, and segmental diversity. These findings establish the PFE as a valid phonological assessment for Chilean Spanish and support the use of a whole-word scoring approach for phonological screening in clinical and cross-linguistic contexts.