A comparative analysis of phonological acquisition of consonants in the speech of 2½-6-year-old Xhosa- and English-speaking children

Abstract

The articulation of 41 phonemes in the speech of 70 Xhosa-speaking children ages 2½-6 years (10 children in each group of seven age levels 6 months apart) was studied with respect to order of acquisition, types of errors, types of substitutions, ages of phoneme acquisition, and sex variables. These variables were compared with acquisition data of 20 similar phonemes used by 70 Englishspeaking children. Results indicate Xhosa-speaking children master most phonemes at an earlier age than their English-speaking counteiparts. Xhosa speakers produce a similar number of errors on the same phonemes and make similar errors as English speakers, but Xhosa speakers make fewer errors on stops and fricatives. The data support the notion of the existence of phonological universals at least with the two groups studied.

Key Words:

• Xhosa phoneme acquisition
• English phoneme acquisition
• Xhosa sound learning
• child phoneme acquisition