Phonetic Characteristics of Children's Early Words in German: Data From Typically Developing Children With Clinical Implications

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined sound sequencing characteristics of German children's early words to compare with the patterns established for American English. We focused on consonant place of articulation for comparative purposes to Aoyama and Davis (2017) on children acquiring American English. Consonant–vowel–consonant (C 1 VC 2 ) word forms is a frequent clinical target area for children receiving speech intervention for delays or disorders. Our goal is to provide useful background information for clinical decisions with German-speaking children. Method: Data from 13 German-speaking children were analyzed using the Child Language Data Exchange System database. First and second consonants in C 1 VC 2 word forms were coded as a labial (e.g., /p/, /b/, /m/), a coronal (alveolar and palatal, e.g., /t/, /d/, /n/), or a dorsal (velar, e.g., /k/, /g/, /ŋ/). All word types and tokens were then categorized into nine place–sequence types (e.g., labial–labial, Baum /baʊm/ “tree”; labial–coronal, mit /mɪt/ “with”; labial–velar, Weg /vɛk/ “path”). Results: C 1 VC 2 words consisting of labial–coronal and coronal–coronal sequences occurred more frequently than other sequences (e.g., labial–labial, coronal–labial). Words with labial–coronal sequences were much more frequent than the opposite coronal–labial sequences, similar to English. Some sequences involving dorsals (i.e., dorsal–labial) are relatively frequent in German words compared to English words. Conclusions: Results demonstrated both similarities and differences with previous studies of typically developing children learning American English. In both German and English, labial–coronal and coronal–coronal sequences were by far the most frequent. Sequences involving dorsal consonants were more frequent in German than in English. For clinical planning, results suggest that place-of-articulation patterns in C 1 VC 2 words are similar between German and English words (e.g., high frequencies of labial–coronal and coronal–coronal sequences). However, sequences involving dorsals are more frequent in German than in English. For intervention, this information can be used to guide selection of words containing sound sequences that are frequent for German-speaking children.