Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T17:40:54.542Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

From phonetics to phonology: The emergence of first words in Italian*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2008

TAMAR KEREN-PORTNOY ,
MARINELLA MAJORANO  and
MARILYN M. VIHMAN
TAMAR KEREN-PORTNOY*
Affiliation:
University of York
MARINELLA MAJORANO
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Parma
MARILYN M. VIHMAN
Affiliation:
University of York
*
[*]Tamar Keren-Portnoy, Dept. of Language and Linguistic Science, V/C/212, 2nd Floor, Block C, Vanbrugh College, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK. e-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study assesses the extent of phonetic continuity between babble and words in four Italian children followed longitudinally from 0 ; 9 or 0 ; 10 to 2 ; 0 – two with relatively rapid and two with slower lexical growth. Prelinguistic phonetic characteristics, including both (a) consistent use of specific consonants and (b) age of onset and extent of consonant variegation in babble, are found to predict rate of lexical advance and to relate to the form of the early words. In addition, each child's lexical profile is analyzed to test the hypothesis of non-linearity in phonological development. All of the children show the expected pattern of phonological advance: Relatively accurate first word production is followed by lexical expansion, characterized by a decrease in accuracy and an increase of similarity between word forms. We interpret such a profile as reflecting the emergence of word templates, a first step in phonological organization.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 36 , Issue 2 , March 2009 , pp. 235 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Barca, L., Burani, C. & Arduino, L. S. (2002). Word naming times and psycholinguistic norms for Italian nouns. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computers 34, 424–34.Google Scholar
Bortolini, U. (1995). Lo sviluppo fonologico. In Sabbadini, G. (ed.), Manuale di neuropsicologia dell'età evolutiva, 203–237. Bologna: Zanichelli.Google Scholar
Bortolini, U. & Leonard, L. B. (2000). Phonology and children with Specific Language Impairment: Status of structural constraints in two languages. Journal of Communication Disorders 33, 131–50.Google Scholar
Caselli, M. C. & Casadio, P. (1995). Il primo vocabolario del bambino. Milano: Franco Angeli.Google Scholar
Davis, B. L., MacNeilage, P. F. & Matyear, C. L. (2002). Acquisition of serial complexity in speech production: A comparison of phonetic and phonological approaches to first word production. Phonetica 59, 75–107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Mauro, T. (2003). Linguistica elementare. Rome: Edizioni Laterza.Google Scholar
DePaolis, R. A. (2006). The influence of production on the perception of speech. In Bamman, D., Magnitskaia, T. & Zaller, C. (eds), Proceedings of the 30th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, 142–53. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
D'Odorico, L., Bortolini, U., De Gasperi, L. & Assanelli, A. (1999). Capacità fonologiche e sviluppo lessicale: Quale relazione? Paper presented at the Primo Congresso Nazionale della sezione di Psicologia Clinica, Capri.Google Scholar
Ferguson, C. A. & Farwell, C. B. (1975). Words and sounds in early language acquisition. Language 51, 419–39.Google Scholar
Ingram, D. (2002). The measurement of whole-word productions. Journal of Child Language 29, 713–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keren-Portnoy, T., DePaolis, R. A. & Vihman, M. M. (2005). The articulatory filter and the creation of sound-meanings links. Paper presented at Emergence of Linguistic Abilities (ELA), Lyon.Google Scholar
Locke, J. L. (1983). Phonological acquisition and change. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Macken, M. A. (1979). Developmental reorganization of phonology: A hierarchy of basic units of acquisition. Lingua 49, 11–49.Google Scholar
Macken, M. A. (1980). Aspects of the acquisition of stop systems: A cross-linguistic perspective. In Yeni-komshian, G., Kavanagh, J. F. & Ferguson, C. A. (eds), Child Phonology, I: Production, 143–68. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
MacNeilage, P. F., Davis, B. L., Kinney, A. & Matyear, C. L. (1999). Origin of serial-output complexity in speech. Psychological Science 10, 459–60.Google Scholar
Majorano, M. & D'Odorico, L. (in press). Characteristics of early lexical and phonological development in children acquiring Italian. In Fougeron, C. & Nguyen, N. (ed.), Lab Phon 10: Variation, detail and representation. Mouton de Gruyter: New York.Google Scholar
McCune, L. & Vihman, M. M. (2001), Early phonetic and lexical development: A productivity approach. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 44, 670–84.Google Scholar
Menn, L. (1971). Phonotactic rules in beginning speech: A study in the development of English discourse. Lingua 26, 225–51.Google Scholar
Menn, L. (1983). Development of articulatory, phonetic, and phonological capabilities. In Butterworth, B. (ed.), Language Production, vol. 2, 3–50. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Menyuk, P., Liebergott, J. & Schultz, M. (1986). Predicting phonological development. In Lindblom, B. & Zetterstrom, R. (ed.), Precursors of early speech, 79–94. New York: Stockholm Press.Google Scholar
Menyuk, P., Menn, L. & Silber, R. (1986). Early strategies for the perception and production of words and sounds. In Fletcher, P. & Garman, M. (eds), Language Acquisition, 2nd ed., 198–222. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Orsolini, M. (2002). Il suono delle parole. Milano: La Nuova Italia.Google Scholar
Pharr, A. B., Ratner, N. B. & Rescorla, L. (2000). Syllable structure development of toddlers with expressive specific language impairment. Applied Psycholinguistics 21, 429–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rescorla, L. (1989). The Language Development Survey: A screening tool for delayed language in toddlers. Journal of Speech & Hearing Research 54, 587–99.Google Scholar
Smith, B. L., Brown-Sweeney, S. & Stoel-Gammon, C. (1989). A quantitative analysis of reduplicated and variegated babbling. First Language 9, 175–90.Google Scholar
Stoel-Gammon, C. (1989). Prespeech and early speech development of two late-talkers. First Language 9, 207–224.Google Scholar
Stoel-Gammon, C. (1992). Prelinguistic development: Measurement and predictions. In Ferguson, C. A., Menn, L. & Stoel-Gammon, C. (eds)s, Phonological development: Models, research, implications, 439–56. Timonium, MD: York Press.Google Scholar
Stoel-Gammon, C. & Cooper, J. A. (1984). Patterns of early lexical and phonological development. Journal of Child Language 11, 247–71.Google Scholar
Thal, D. J., Oroz, M. & McCaw, V. (1995). Phonological and lexical development in normal and late-talking toddlers. Applied Psycholinguistics 16, 407–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Velleman, S. L. & Vihman, M. M. (2002). Whole-word phonology and templates. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools 33, 9–23.Google Scholar
Vihman, M. M. (1993). Variable paths to early word production. Journal of Phonetics 21, 61–82.Google Scholar
Vihman, M. M. (1996). Phonological development: The origins of language in the child. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Vihman, M. M. (in press). Phonological templates in early words: A cross-linguistic study. In Fougeron, C. & Nguyen, N. (eds), Lab Phon 10: Variation, detail and representation. Mouton de Gruyter: New York.Google Scholar
Vihman, M. M. & Croft, W. (2007). Phonological development: Toward a ‘radical’ templatic phonology. Linguistics 45, 683–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vihman, M. M. & Kunnari, S. (2006). The sources of phonological knowledge: A cross-linguistic perspective. Recherches Linguistiques de Vincennes 35, 133–64.Google Scholar
Vihman, M. M., Macken, M. A., Miller, R., Simmons, H. & Miller, J. (1985). From babbling to speech: a reassessment of the continuity issue. Language 61, 395–443.Google Scholar
Vihman, M. & McCune, L. (1994). When is a word a word? Journal of Child Language 21, 517–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vihman, M. M. & Velleman, S. (1989). Phonological reorganization: A case study. Language and Speech 32, 149–70.Google Scholar
Vihman, M. M. & Velleman, S. L. (2000). The construction of a first phonology. Phonetica 57, 255–66.Google Scholar
Vihman, M. M., Velleman, S. L. & McCune, L. (1994). How abstract is child phonology? Towards an integration of linguistic and psychological approaches. In Yavas, M. (ed.), First and second language phonology, 9–44. San Diego: Singular Publishing.Google Scholar
Waterson, N. (1971). Child phonology: A prosodic view. Journal of Linguistics 7, 179–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zmarich, C. & Bonifacio, S. (2005). Phonetic inventories in Italian children aged 18–27 months: A longitudinal study. In Interspeech '2005 – Eurospeech, 9th European Conference on Speech Communication and Technology, Lisbon, Portugal, September 4–8. www.isca-speech.org/archive/interspeech_2005Google Scholar