The Effects of Phonological Complexity on Word Production in French-Speaking Children.

Word complexity indices, such as the Index of Phonetic Complexity (IPC) and the Word Complexity Measure (WCM), code a word in terms of featural and structural properties that pose difficulty in phonological development. Studies have investigated the influence of complexity indices on vocabulary development; however, few have examined their influence on consonant accuracy. Furthermore, these indices were developed for English-speaking children and have not been widely applied to other languages. This study investigates whether a word's phonological complexity influences how accurately it is produced in French-speaking children. Four databases consisting of the productions of children (n = 74), aged 1;11 to 4;9, were analyzed. Words were coded in terms of the IPC, WCM, and parameters that add complexity during phonological development. Using mixed-effects logistic regression, we examined whether phonological complexity as determined by the IPC, WCM, or by alternative indices better accounts for the influence of complexity on production. We also investigated whether the accuracy of a target sound/structure was influenced by a word's complexity. Results indicated that complexity based on the IPC or WCM significantly influenced consonant accuracy; however, indices tapping fewer features provided superior model fit. At younger ages, the presence of fricatives/liquids and, at all ages, the presence of alveopalatal fricatives, codas, and clusters significantly influenced accuracy. Findings were inconclusive as to whether whole word complexity influenced the accuracy of a target sound/structure. Results suggest that current complexity indices provide only approximate indications of how featural and structural properties of words influence production.

Dynamic Assessment of Narrative Skills for Identifying Developmental Language Disorder in Monolingual and Bilingual French-Speaking Children.

PURPOSE: Typically developing (TD) bilingual children usually produce narratives with preserved macrostructure (i.e., narrative scheme) but with impaired microstructure (i.e., language complexity). As for monolingual and bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD), they usually produce narratives with both impaired macro- and microstructure. It is therefore difficult to differentiate TD from DLD, on the basis of narrative production, especially in bilingual children. In this study, we examine whether a dynamic assessment (DA) task of narratives, using a pretest­teaching­posttest design, can differentiate TD from DLD, without disadvantaging bilinguals over monolinguals. METHOD: We recruited 118 French-speaking children (Mage = 8;5 [years;months]), with one experimental condition in which children benefited from a teaching phase (30 TD, 18 monolinguals and 12 bilinguals; 30 DLD, 15 monolinguals and 15 bilinguals) and one control condition (58 TD, 31 monolinguals and 27 bilinguals), in which children participated in another activity. In the pre- and posttest, children were asked to tell a story based on a series of pictures. During the teaching phase, an examiner asked children 12 specific questions about the story, targeting macro- and microstructural elements. Scores were attributed to the number of macro- and microstructural elements correctly produced and to the number of specific trained elements (TE) that were produced as a result of training. RESULTS: Scores improved on macrostructure and on the number of TE following teaching for all groups of the experimental condition (TD and DLD), whereas there was no progress in children of the control condition. TD participants and participants with DLD differed on all measures in both pre- and posttest, with no differences between monolinguals and bilinguals. CONCLUSIONS: Our dynamic task led to both improved narrative skills and TD/DLD differentiation, with bilinguals not being disadvantaged. Our study thus supports the existing literature indicating that DA can be used to diagnose narrative deficits in children with DLD.

Which phonological and lexical factors best influence whether a word is produced and pronounced well?

This study examines lexical and phonological factors that influence word production and pronunciation. Specifically, we investigate whether phonological production (measured by percent consonants correct) contributes to word production and pronunciation over and above the properties of the target words (e.g., word frequency, neighborhood density, and phonetic complexity). Forty French-speaking monolingual and bilingual children, aged 1;11 to 3;1, participated in a spontaneous language sample and were administered a naming and a nonword repetition task. Their parents filled out the MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventory (MCDI) and rated their children's pronunciation on an experimental version of the MCDI. Statistical models indicated that word frequency and the phonetic complexity of the target words influenced whether a word was produced. These factors along with neighborhood density and the children's production capacities influenced whether a word was pronounced poorly or well. Findings indicate that parents can provide reliable information on the word pronunciation of their children.

The Development of Alveolar and Alveopalatal Fricatives in French-Speaking Monolingual and Bilingual Children.

PURPOSE: This study conducted a transcription-based and spectral moments' analysis of alveolar and alveopalatal fricatives in monolingual and bilingual French-speaking children, aged 2;6-6;10 (years;months). We measured the percent accuracy of fricatives and investigated whether young children could distinguish alveolar and alveopalatal fricatives on the basis of spectral moments. In addition, we examined which child- (i.e., age, gender, bilingualism, and alveopalatal fricative inventory size) and word/sound-related (i.e., place-of-articulation [PoA], voicing, vowel quality, and word position) factors influenced spectral moments and fricative duration. METHOD: Children (N = 89) participated in a picture-naming task in which they produced words containing alveolar /s, z/ and alveopalatal /ʃ, ʒ/ fricatives in word-initial, -medial, and -final positions. The words were transcribed and analyzed acoustically, and the first and third spectral moments (i.e., centroid and skewness) and the duration of fricatives were calculated. The data were subject to mixed-effects linear regression. RESULTS: Percent accuracy results indicated effects of age on alveopalatal fricatives and effects of word position on voiced fricatives. Statistical models indicated that age, gender, and alveopalatal fricative inventory size influenced spectral moments. Age and inventory size interacted significantly with PoA. Children as young as age 2;6 distinguished alveopalatal and alveolar fricatives on the basis of centroid but not skewness values. The distinction between the two sets of fricatives increased with age. Bilingual children who spoke languages with greater numbers of alveopalatal fricatives distinguished alveopalatal and alveolar fricatives less well than monolinguals and bilinguals who spoke languages with fewer numbers of alveopalatal fricatives. Girls had higher centroid and lower skewness values than boys. Models also revealed a significant influence of word/sound-related factors (voicing, vowel quality, and word position) on spectral moments and fricative duration. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicated that multiple factors influence the spectral moments and duration measures of children's alveolar and alveopalatal fricatives. In particular, we found that spectral moments were sensitive to gender and bilingualism effects.

A new dynamic word learning task to diagnose language disorder in French-speaking monolingual and bilingual children.

Tools to effectively assess the language performance of bilingual children are lacking. Static tests assessing vocabulary knowledge (e.g., naming task) are not appropriate for testing bilingual children due to different types of bias. Alternative methods have been developed to diagnose bilingual children, including measuring language learning (e.g., word learning) through dynamic assessment. Research conducted with English-speaking children indicates that DA of word learning is effective in diagnosing language disorders in bilingual children. In this study, we examine whether a dynamic word learning task, using shared-storybook reading, can differentiate French-speaking (monolingual and bilingual) children with developmental language disorder (DLD) from those with typical development (TD). Sixty children (4-8 years), 43 with TD and 17 with DLD, participated: 30 were monolinguals and 25 were bilinguals. The dynamic word-learning task used a shared-storybook reading context. The children had to learn four non-words, paired with novel objects, as well as their semantic characteristics (a category and a definition) during the reading of a story. Post-tests assessed the recall of the phonological form and the semantic features of the objects. Phonological and semantic prompts were given if the child was unable to name or describe the objects. Results indicated that children with DLD performed less well than those with TD on phonological recall, leading to fair sensitivity and good specificity at delayed post-test for young children (4-6 years). Semantic production did not differentiate the two groups: all children performed well at this task. In sum, children with DLD have more difficulties encoding the phonological form of the word. Our findings suggest that a dynamic word learning task using shared-storybook reading is a promising approach for diagnosing lexical difficulties in young French-speaking, monolingual and bilingual, children.

The Prosody of Two-Syllable Words in French-Speaking Monolingual and Bilingual Children: A Focus on Initial Accent and Final Accent.

This study examined the acoustic characteristics of disyllabic words produced by French-speaking monolingual and bilingual children, aged 2;6 to 6;10, and by adults. Specifically, it investigated the influence of age, bilingualism, and vocabulary on final-to-initial syllable duration ratios and on the presence of initial and final accent. Children and adults took part in a word-naming task in which they produced a controlled set of disyllabic words. Duration and maximum pitch were measured for each syllable of the disyllabic word and these values were inserted into mixed-effects statistical models. Results indicated that children as young as 2;6 obtained final-to-initial syllable duration ratios similar to those of adults. Young children realized accent on the initial syllable more often and accent on the final syllable less often than older children and adults. There was no influence of bilingualism on the duration and pitch characteristics of disyllabic words. Children aged 2;6 with smaller vocabularies produced initial accent more often than children with large vocabularies. Our findings suggest that early word productions are constrained by developmental tendencies favouring falling pitch across an utterance.

Relations between phonological production, grammar and the lexicon in bilingual French-English children.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study examines multiple associations between language domains in bilingual children with a focus on phonology. Previous studies indicate within- but not cross-language associations between vocabulary and grammar in bilingual children. We investigate whether the relation between phonology and other language domains differs from the one reported between vocabulary and grammar. METHODOLOGY: Canadian French-English bilingual children (n = 31), aged 31 months, participated in 2 free-play sessions, from which lexical, grammatical and phonological information was extracted. The children's parents completed the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Developmental Inventories and its Canadian French adaptation providing additional information on vocabulary and grammar in each of the children's languages. They also completed a questionnaire on their children's exposure to French and English. DATA ANALYSIS: Within and cross-language relations between phonology, vocabulary and grammar were investigated using correlational analyses and mixed logistic regression. FINDINGS: Correlational analyses did not reveal significant cross-language relations between phonology, vocabulary and grammar. However, mixed logistic regression, which controlled for language exposure effects, indicated that phonology was influenced by vocabulary and grammar both within and across languages. ORIGINALITY: This study is one of the first to study cross-domain relations involving phonology in young bilingual children. IMPLICATIONS: Overall, the findings suggest that phonology displays a pattern of relations that is different from other language domains engendering between-language effects due to a language-general component.

Within- and Cross-Language Relations Between Phonological Memory, Vocabulary, and Grammar in Bilingual Children.

PURPOSE: This study investigated within-language and between-language associations between phonological memory, vocabulary, and grammar in French-English (n = 43) and Spanish-English (n = 25) bilingual children at 30, 36, and 48 months. It was predicted that phonological memory would display both within-language and between-language relations to language development and that these relations would be stronger at the youngest age. METHOD: Bilingual children participated in free-play sessions in both of their languages at each age, from which vocabulary and grammatical information (number of different words and mean length of utterance) was extracted. Vocabulary information was also obtained from parent inventories completed when the children were 30 months and a standardized receptive vocabulary test administered at 36 and 48 months. The children were also administered nonword repetition tests in both of their languages at each age. RESULTS: Mixed logistic regression indicated that phonological memory was associated with vocabulary and grammar within the same language and phonological memory in the other language. In two of the four statistical models, phonological memory exhibited positive between-language relations, and in one model, it exhibited negative between-language relations to language development. Results also indicated that within-language and between-languages effects remained constant, or between-language associations decreased during the age range studied. CONCLUSION: Overall, the findings provide some support for cross-language associations between phonological memory and lexical and grammatical skills.

Intraword Variability in French-Speaking Monolingual and Bilingual Children.

Purpose This study examines intraword variability in 40 typically developing French-speaking monolingual and bilingual children, aged 2;6-4;8 (years;months). Specifically, it measures rate of intraword variability and investigates which factors best account for it. They include child-specific ones such as age, expressive vocabulary, gender, bilingual status, and speech sound production ability, and word-specific factors, such as phonological complexity (including number of syllables), phonological neighborhood density (PND), and word frequency. Method A variability test was developed, consisting of 25 words, which differed in terms of phonological complexity, PND, and word frequency. Children produced three exemplars of each word during a single session, and productions of words were coded as variable or not variable. In addition, children were administered an expressive vocabulary test and two tests tapping speech motor ability (oral motor assessment and diadochokinetic test). Speech sound ability was also assessed by measuring percent consonants correct on all words produced by the children during the session. Data were entered into a binomial logistic regression. Results Average intraword variability was 29% across all children. Several factors were found to predict intraword variability including age, gender, bilingual status, speech sound production ability, phonological complexity, and PND. Conclusions Intraword variability was found to be lower in French than what has been reported in English, consistent with phonological differences between French and English. Our findings support those of other investigators in indicating that the factors influencing intraword variability are multiple and reflect sources at various levels in the speech processing system.

Coda consonant production in French-speaking children.

This study examined coda production in French-speaking children, aged 2;6 to 6;10 (n = 141). The primary aim was to provide normative information on coda production with a large group of children. The secondary aim was to investigate factors which influence coda production such as age, manner and place of articulation, word length, word position, and bilingualism. Children took part in a word-naming task in which they produced words containing word-final and -medial codas. Results indicated that French-speaking children, as young as 2;6, produce word-final codas with a high degree of accuracy (i.e. 80%). Age had minimal effects on coda presence (i.e., whether a coda was realized or not) but it did influence coda accuracy (i.e. whether a coda was realized target-like). Older children had better coda accuracy scores than younger children. Manner of articulation influenced coda production: the younger children had the lowest scores for liquid and fricative codas whereas the older children, for fricative codas. A closer examination of coda production according to voicing revealed it was voiced obstruent codas which obtained low accuracy scores across age groups. Word-length influenced coda realization with the youngest age group producing codas more often in one- versus two-syllable words. Children produced codas more often in word-final versus word-medial position with the greatest differences evident in the youngest children. Bilinguals obtained better coda scores than monolinguals at the youngest ages and poorer ones at the oldest ages. The study concludes with a discussion of the clinical implications of the findings.

The development of a speech sound screening test for European French-speaking monolingual and bilingual children.

PURPOSE: This study presents normative data on a screening test, referred to as the Dépistage Rapide Articulation et Phonologie (DRAP), designed to detect European French-speaking children who are at risk for having speech sound disorders. METHOD: The test consists of 20 words which contain late-acquired phonological features such as medial and final /r/, consonant clusters, /s/C sequences, and alveolar and post-alveolar fricatives. The test was given to 196 children, monolingual and bilingual, living in Geneva and San Francisco, and ranging in age from 2.11 through to 6.11. Our analyses examined the influence of bilingualism, context (Geneva or San Francisco), gender and age on the test scores and also looked at the influence of these factors on phonological features in the test. RESULT: There were no strong effects of bilingualism, context, and gender on the test results but strong effects of age. Validity and internal consistency of the test were in the acceptable range. A focus on phonological features indicated that children had difficulty with final clusters and post-alveolar fricatives. CONCLUSION: The study provides encouraging results for the use of this test as a screening measure with French-speaking children.

The Relationship Between Lexical and Phonological Development in French-Speaking Children: A Longitudinal Study.

Purpose This study examines the influence of lexical and phonological factors on expressive lexicon size in 40 French-speaking children tested longitudinally from 22 to 48 months. The factors include those based on the lexical and phonological properties of words in the children's lexicons (phonetic complexity, word length, neighborhood density [ND], and word frequency [WF]) as well as variables measuring phonological production (percent consonants correct and phonetic inventory size). Specifically, we investigate the relative influence of these factors at individual ages, namely, 22, 29, 36, and 48 months, and which factors measured at 22 and 29 months influence lexicon size at 36 and 48 months. Method Children were selected based on parent-reported vocabulary size. We included children with low, medium, and high vocabulary scores. The children's lexicons were coded in terms of phonetic complexity, word length, ND, and WF, and their phonological production skills were based on measures of percent consonants correct and phonetic inventory size extracted from spontaneous speech samples at 29, 36, and 48 months. In the case of ND and WF, we focused on one- and two-syllable nouns. Results Across the age range, the most important factor that explained variance in lexicon size was the WF of nouns. Children who selected low-frequency nouns had larger vocabularies across all ages (22-48 months). The WF of two-syllable nouns and phonological production measured at 29 months influenced lexicon size at 36 months, whereas the WF (of one- and two-syllable words) influenced lexicon size at 48 months. Conclusions The findings support the role of WF and phonological production in explaining expressive vocabulary development. Children enlarge their vocabularies by adding nouns of increasingly lower frequency. Phonological production plays a role in accounting for vocabulary size up until the age of 36 months. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12291074.

What factors influence phonological production in French-speaking bilingual children, aged three to six years?

This study examines the influence of bilingual status, language-internal (complexity of L1 phonology), language-external (dominance), and lexical (L2 vocabulary score) factors on phonological production in French-speaking monolingual (n = 37) and bilingual children (n = 64) aged three to six years. Children participated in an object and picture naming task which tested different phonological features. The bilinguals' first languages were coded in terms of the complexity of these phonological features. In addition, the parents completed a questionnaire on their child's language dominance and the children were administered a vocabulary test in their L2. Results indicated that vocabulary was the principal predictor of phonological accuracy across both age groups. Apparent monolingual-bilingual differences and dominance effects could largely be explained by vocabulary scores: children who scored better on a vocabulary test obtained superior phonological accuracy. Language-internal effects were minimal and marginally influenced vowel accuracy only.

Bilingual phonological acquisition: the influence of language-internal, language-external, and lexical factors.

This study examines the influence of language-internal (frequency and complexity of linguistic properties), language-external (percent French input, socioeconomic status (SES), and gender), and lexical factors (size of total and French vocabulary) on the phonological production abilities of monolingual and bilingual French-speaking children, aged 2;6. Children participated in an object and picture naming task in which they produced words selected to test different phonological properties. The bilinguals' first languages were coded in terms of the frequency and complexity of these phonological properties. Results indicated that bilinguals who spoke languages characterized by high frequency/complexity of codas and clusters had superior results in their coda and cluster accuracy in comparison to monolinguals. Bilinguals also had better coda and cluster accuracy scores than monolinguals. These findings provide evidence for cross-linguistic interaction in combination with a 'general bilingual effect'. In addition, percent French exposure, SES, total vocabulary, and gender influenced phonological production.

The relation between phonological and lexical development in French-speaking children.

This study examines the relation between lexical and phonological variables in 40 French-speaking children, aged 2;5. Specifically, it examines the influence of phonetic complexity, phonological production, phonological memory and neighbourhood density (ND) on vocabulary size. Children were divided into four groups on the basis of their scores on the French version of the Communicative Developmental Inventory (CDI): late1 (< 10%ile), late2 (15-25%ile), middle (40-60%ile) and precocious (> 90%ile). The children's lexicons were coded in terms of phonetic complexity and ND (one-and two-syllable words), and their production capacities were determined from measuring percent consonants correct (PCC) and the number of syllable-initial (CSI) and -final (CSF) consonants in their phonetic inventories. The children also took part in a non-word repetition (NWR) task. Results indicated significant group differences in all four sets of variables. Children with larger vocabularies selected words with greater phonetic complexity and with lower ND values. They had superior PCC, CSI and NWR scores compared to children with smaller vocabularies. Linear regression analyses indicated that 76% of variance in vocabulary size could be accounted for by ND in combination with phonetic complexity and CSI. Our findings are consistent with previous studies which show that ND plays an important role in accounting for variance in vocabulary size. They also indicate that phonetic complexity and phonological production influence lexical acquisition.

Acquisition of velars: A whole-word approach.

This study focuses on the acquisition of velars in a child, Max, aged 1;09-4;08, with protracted phonological development, possibly as a result of his diverse input conditions: he is an internationally adopted child who produces his first words shortly after exposure to English at 1;09. Max's acquisition of velars is characterised by U-shaped development as well as by a positional velar-fronting process, in which velars are realised consistently in prosodically-weak but inconsistently in prosodically-strong positions. In prosodically-strong positions, they are conditioned by vowel quality, voicing, the place-of-articulation of the post-vocalic consonant and whether they are part of an obstruent-sonorant cluster. The study aims to account for Max's U-shaped pattern of development, his positional velar fronting process and his partial realisation of prosodically-strong velars appealing to generative and usage-based approaches of phonological development.

The development of phonological skills in late and early talkers.

This study examined the relationship between phonological and lexical development in a group of French-speaking children (n=30), aged 29 months. The participants were divided into three sub-groups based on the number of words in their expressive vocabulary : low vocabulary (below the 15th percentile) (<< late-talkers >>) ; average-sized vocabulary (40-60th percentile) (<< middle group >>) and advanced vocabulary (above the 90th percentile) (<< precocious >> or "early talkers"). The phonological abilities (e.g., phonemic inventory, percentage of correct consonants, and phonological processes) of the three groups were compared. The comparison was based on analyses of spontaneous language samples. Most findings were consistent with previous results found in English-speaking children, indicating that the phonological abilities of late talkers are less well developed than those of children with average-sized vocabularies which in turn are less well-developed than those of children with advanced vocabularies. Nevertheless, several phonological measures were not related to vocabulary size, in particular those concerning syllable-final position. These findings differ from those obtained in English. The article finally discusses the clinical implications of the findings for children with delayed language development.

Relationships between lexical and phonological development: a look at bilingual children--a commentary on Stoel-Gammon's 'Relationships between lexical and phonological development in young children'.

Stoel-Gammon (this issue) highlights the close and symbiotic association that exists between the lexical and phonological domains in early linguistic development. Her comprehensive review considers two bodies of literature: (1) child-centred studies; and (2) studies based on adult psycholinguistic research. Within the child-centred studies, both prelinguistic and early meaningful speech is examined. Stoel-Gammon organizes her review of child-centred studies around a series of postulates that capture the associations between lexical and phonological development and here she focuses primarily on normally developing children acquiring American English. My intention is not to question these postulates, which are based on established research findings, but to extend them beyond the limits of her review. In my commentary, I would like to explore the application of some of the stated postulates of the early meaningful speech period in children acquiring two or more languages. In so doing, I add a cross-linguistic dimension to the discussion; a dimension that Stoel-Gammon would like to see pursued in future research on this topic. I also expand our understanding of lexical-phonological relationships by considering the potential for interaction in multiple lexical-phonological relationships.

The acquisition of nuclei: a longitudinal analysis of phonological vowel length in three German-speaking children.

Studies of vowel length acquisition indicate an initial stage in which phonological vowel length is random followed by a stage in which either long vowels (without codas) or short vowels and codas are produced. To determine whether this sequence of acquisition applies to a group of German-speaking children (three children aged 1;3-2;6), monosyllabic and disyllabic words were transcribed and acoustically analysed. The results did not support a stage in which vowel length was totally random. At the first time period (onset of word production to 1;7), one child's monosyllabic productions were governed by a bipositional constraint such that either long vowels, or short vowels and codas were produced. At the second (1;10 to 2;0) and third time periods (2;3 to 2;6), all three children produced target long vowels significantly longer than target short vowels. Transcription results indicated that children experienced more difficulty producing target long than short vowels. In the discussion, the findings are interpreted in terms of the representation of vowel length in children's grammars.