The rhaeadr effect in clinical phonology

Abstract

A distinction is drawn between Crystal’s bucket theory of language processing and an overflow of effects between different linguistic levels in language production. Most of the examples are drawn from Welsh (a language of mutual interest to the author and the honoree of this issue). For that reason, it is proposed that this effect is termed the rhaeadr effect (from the Welsh for waterfall). The rhaeadr effect is illustrated with the initial consonant mutation systems of Welsh and Irish, and with data from both normal phonological (and morphophonological) development and disordered speech.

• Clinical phonology
• Irish
• interacting effects in communication disorders
• Welsh

Notes

¹This is usually mitigated in colloquial speech by the addition of postposed pronouns which clarify the intended possessor: ei gath ef, ei chath hi, eu cath nhw; ei hafalau hi, eu hafalau nhw, etc.

²This of course does not mean that NM will be used at a young age, as mutations themselves have an acquisition pattern that we refer to later.

³The vertical brackets denote contrastive phones, i.e. this speaker's ‘phonemes' (Grunwell, 1987).

⁴Interestingly, initial consonant deletion is rarely reported as a naturally occurring pattern in phonological development cross-linguistically. Indeed, Bowen (2009) calls it a “red flag” for speech sound disorders if found in English.