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Free keywords:
Lexical Representation; Word Recognition; Speech; Assimilation; Consonants; Language; Patterns; Discrimination; Organization; Specificity
Abstract:
The present article investigates the acquisition of Manner of Articulation (MoA) contrasts in child language production. We analyzed spontaneous longitudinal speech data of four German and six Dutch 1- to 3-year-olds. The data suggest that the acquisition of MoA contrasts is influenced by various co-occurrence constraints at the word level. Interestingly, developmental patterns are very similar across languages. However, children seem to follow different strategies to introduce MoA contrasts: They either introduce MoA contrasts in word-initial position in monosyllables as well as in disyllables, or they introduce MoA contrasts in noninitial position in both types of words. We couch the data in a lexical framework assuming that early lexical representation fits templates that evolve in the course of development.
