Phonological development in first language Laki-speaking children aged 3 to 5 years: A pilot study

Abstract

Purpose

To date there are no studies of speech sound acquisition in Laki, a language spoken in western regions of Iran. Thus, we set out a pilot study to investigate the speech development of 56 first language Laki-speaking children (aged 3–5 years).

Method

Single words were elicited through a picture naming test specifically developed for this study. After recording and transcribing of speech samples, percentage of consonants correct (PCC), percentage of vowels correct (PVC), and proportion of whole word proximity (PWP) were documented in four age groups (36–41, 42–47, 48–53, and 54–59 months) and both genders. Children’s phonetic inventories and consonant and vowel accuracy were also described.

Result

All the sounds were considered as emerging by 53 months of age. For speech sound accuracy, all the speech sounds except /ɢ, z, ŋ, ʒ/ were mastered by 5 years. The effect of age on PCC values was significant. Also, age groups showed significant differences for PWP but were not significant for PVC. Boys and girls did not differ for PCC, PVC, and PWP values.

Conclusion

From a theoretical perspective, findings contribute to theories about phonological acquisition in general and will enable crosslinguistic comparisons. From an applied standpoint, language-specific characteristics are identified, which are much needed for clinical practice with Laki-speaking children.

Keywords:

• Speech
• acquisition
• consonant
• vowel
• phonological development
• Laki language

Acknowledgement

We express our thanks to the children and their parents who assisted us in this project.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest to declare.

Additional information

Funding

The current research received financial support from Babol University of Medical Sciences.