Introducing WCM-SE: The word complexity measure phonetically justified and adapted to Swedish

Figures & data

Table 1. The complexity parameters in the original WCM (Stoel-Gammon, 2010) and in the WCM-SE, sorted by domain. Complexity parameters #6–#8 were modified for the Swedish adaptation, and #9 and #10 were added.

	Complexity parameters
Domains	#	WCM	WCM-SE
Word patterns	1	More than two syllables
	2	Stress on non-initial syllable
Syllable structures	3	Word-final consonant
	4	Consonant cluster
Sound classes	5	Velar consonant
	6	Liquid/syllabic liquid/rhotic vowel	Liquid
	7	Fricative/affricate	Fricative
	8	Voiced fricative/affricate	Voiced fricative
	9	-	Trill
	10	-	Long, front, rounded vowel

Table 2. Summary of the complexity parameters in WCM-SE and the points they give for a production.

Complexity parameter		Points
1	More than two syllables	1 per word
2	Stress on non-initial syllable	1 per word
3	Word-final consonant	1 per word
4	Consonant cluster	1 per occurrence
5	Velar consonant	1 per occurrence
6	Liquid	1 per occurrence
7	Fricative	1 per occurrence
8	Voiced fricative	1 per occurrence
9	Trill	3 per occurrence
10	Long, front, rounded vowel	1 per occurrence

Table 3. Examples of how to calculate the WCM-SE score for individual words produced by children between 1 and 2 years of age. The complexity parameters are numbered as in Tables 1 and 2. Transcriptions of child productions from Renner (2017, pp. 69–70, 125, 131).

		Complexity parameter
Target word	Child production	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Σ
[krʊkʊˈdiːl] ‘crocodile’ krokodil	[dɔdɔˈdiː]	1	1									2
[ˈlampa] ‘lamp’ lampa	[ˈpa]											0
[ˈlampa] ‘lamp’ lampa	[ˈblampa]				2		1					3
[ˈmøsːa] ‘cap’ mössa	[ˈmøːɕːa]								1		1	2
[ˈmøsːa] ‘cap’ mössa	[ˈmœɕan]			1				1				2
[ˈstrʉmpa] ‘sock’ strumpa	[ɡəˈɡa]		1			2						3

Table 4. Illustration of different scores for target word containing /r/, depending on its realization.

Target word	Realization	Complexity parameter										Σ
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
/kruːk/‘hook’ krok	[ˈkruːk]				1	2				3		6
	[ˈkʀuːk]				1	2				3		6
	[ˈkʐuːk]				1	2		1	1			5
	[ˈkɹuːk]				1	2	1					4
	[ˈkɾuːk]				1	2						3

Stoel-Gammon, C. (2010). The word complexity measure: Description and application to developmental phonology and disorders. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 24(4–5), 271–282. doi:10.3109/02699200903581059

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Renner, L. F. (2017). The magic of matching – Speech production and perception in language acquisition. Stockholm, Sweden: Published doctoral dissertation, Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University.

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