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Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
Published on: November 2, 2012
Production, conceptualization and change in distinctive featural categories
1Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA. gierut@indiana.edu
Journal of Child Language
|October 15, 1998
Summary
Children with speech sound disorders improved their phonological knowledge after treatment. Their conceptual understanding of sounds matched or exceeded their production abilities, indicating progress in phonological change.
Area of Science:
- Speech-language pathology
- Developmental linguistics
- Childhood phonology
Background:
- Children's phonological development involves both producing sounds and understanding sound systems.
- Prior research explored children's conceptualization of phonological features, but the link to production needs further study.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between productive and conceptual phonological knowledge in children.
- To examine how this relationship influences phonological change, particularly concerning fricative sounds.
Main Methods:
- Assessed productive sound systems and metalinguistic classification of phonological information in six children with phonological disorders.
- Provided clinical treatment targeting accurate fricative production.
- Re-evaluated production and classification abilities post-treatment.
Main Results:
- Treatment-induced changes in productive knowledge of distinctive featural contrasts correlated with changes in conceptual knowledge.
- Children's conceptual classification of phonological information aligned with or preceded their production features.
- Conceptual knowledge was found to be equal to or superior to productive knowledge.
Conclusions:
- Phonological treatment can enhance both the production and conceptual understanding of speech sounds.
- Conceptual knowledge appears to be a strong foundation or even a precursor for productive phonological development.
- Findings support the integration of metalinguistic awareness in speech sound disorder interventions.
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