The study aims at identifying characteristic phenotypes for children with SLI and children with sensorineural hearing impairment (HI) in language and in domains associated with language. We focus on verbal agreement inflection and phonological short-term memory, phenomena that have been repeatedly found to be impaired in both groups of children. A…

Background & Aims: The present study examined how phonological and lexical knowledge influences memory in children with specific language impairments (SLI). Previous work showed recall advantages for typical adults and children due to word frequency and phonotactic pattern frequency and a recall disadvantage due to phonological similarity…

Background: Down's syndrome is a chromosome disorder characterized by a range of physical and psychological conditions, including language impairment. The severity of impairment is variable, and some components of the language system appear to be more affected than others. This description could also be applied to typically developing children…

A study investigated phonological patterns in 12 bilingual (Spanish-English) 4-year-old children. There were no significant differences between the two languages on percentage of occurrence for phonological processes, however, children exhibited different patterns of production across the two languages and showed different patterns compared to…

A phonological investigation of four siblings with autism found persistence of several phonological processes such as labilization, cluster reduction, or final consonant deletion beyond the expected age, evidence of unusual sound changes such as extensive segment coalescence, frication of liquids, and velarization, chronological mismatch, and…

Findings from several studies indicate: stressed and word-final unstressed syllables are preserved more than nonfinal unstressed syllables; word-internal unstressed syllables with obstruent onsets are preserved more than sonorant onsets; unstressed syllables with non-reduced vowels are preserved more than reduced vowels; and right-sided stressed…

This concluding article of an issue focused on the interaction of phonology with other aspects of language and language learning discusses findings that indicate the importance of considering these aspects when devising remediation strategies for a single domain. The need for future research is emphasized. (Contains 7 references.) (CR)

This article reviews recent investigations of the development of phonology, morphology, semantics, and pragmatics in the development of speech and language by African American children. Clinical implications are offered to aid the distinction between normal language development using features of African American English and language disorders.…

Cognitive mechanisms that may account for the phenomena of whole-word phonology and phonological templates in children are described and strategies for identifying whole-word phonological patterns in normal and disordered phonologies are proposed. Intervention strategies that draw on these same mechanisms as a way to overcome their inappropriate…

This article introduces a whole-word approach to phonological analysis and demonstrates the approach by conducting an analysis and outlining treatment recommendations for a child with phonological disability. Rationale for using a whole-word approach and also for defining phonological typologies are presented, along with four components of a…

This article concludes a forum that considered theoretical and analytical frameworks applied to developing systems in phonological theory and treatment. It discusses the role of complexity in target selection of children with language impairments: error pattern interaction and complexity; complexity, treatment, and constraint demotion; and…

Twelve school-based speech-language practitioners enlisted the assistance of a university clinical phonologist to implement a research project investigating phonological acquisition. The speech samples of 520 children (ages 2-8) were transcribed. The 3-year-olds had acquired all major phoneme classes except liquids, /l/ was acquired between 4- 5,…

This article compares different claims that have been made concerning acquisition by transitional rule-based derivation theories and by optimality theory. Case studies of children with phonological delays are examined. Error patterns are argued to be implicationally related and optimality theory is shown to offer a principled explanation.…

This article highlights the link between lexical and phonological acquisition by considering learning by children beyond the 50-word stage and by applying cognitive models of spoken word processing to development. The effects of lexical and phonological variables on perception, production, and learning are discussed in the context of a…

This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the major areas of research in the field of child language acquisition. It is divided into seven parts and 19 chapters. Part I is an introduction and overview. Part II covers central issues in the study of child language acquisition, focusing on syntax, including those of innateness, maturation, and…