Vowel errors produced by preschool-age children on a single-word test of articulation

ABSTRACT

Eighty-four children, age 4–5 years, with and without speech sound disorder (SSD) completed a battery of standardized speech and language tests, including the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation, Third Edition (GFTA-3). Children with SSD produced more vowel errors than children with typical speech abilities. Percentage vowels correct and consonant error variability were highly correlated, suggesting that poorly specified phonological representations affect both consonants and vowels within a child’s phonological system. However, the GFTA-3 did not contain sufficient target words to determine full vowel inventory. Using words from the GFTA-3, we present a case study of a child with vowel errors along with a sample analysis of these errors, primarily in terms of consonant-vowel feature interactions. Children who exhibit vowel errors on standardized single-word tests of speech accuracy may benefit from further vowel probes to determine how vowel and consonant errors interact in their phonological systems for more targeted therapy.

KEYWORDS:

• Vowels
• phonology
• speech errors
• speech sound disorder

Declaration of Interest

The authors have declared that no competing interests existed at the time of publication.

Additional information

Funding

The work reported in this article was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (FBL, NIDCD R21DC016142); National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders [R21DC016142];