| dc.description.abstract | This chapter reviews and expands the literature on consonantvowel
(CV) interactions in developing sound systems (normal and disordered)
and explores the usefulness of current phonetic models (Davis and MacNeilage,
1995; Kent and Bauer, 1985; MacNeilage and Davis, 1990b; Studdert-Kennedy
and Goodell, 1995) in accounting for and predicting the occurrence of these
phenomena. The phonetic models provide a biological perspective insofar as the
immature pronunciations of the normally developing child are viewed as systematic
reflections of organic constraints imposed by the child's developing
phonetic systems, both perceptual and motor.1
In the clinical setting, context conditioning manifests itself most frequently
as consonantal speech errors, which only occur in specific vocalic contexts,
although recent research has also uncovered evidence of vowel errors conditioned
by consonantal context (Bates and Watson, 1995; Reynolds, 1990). Such
interdependencies accord well with current phonetically orientated models of
speech acquisition and have important implications for clinical practice.
In espousing this approach, we do not intend to overlook the benefits of an
analysis in terms of recent developments in phonological theory. This is an
approach robustly argued in Harris, Watson, and Bates (1999), and taken up in
Chapter 6. Rather, we consider the extent to which current phonetic models of
speech acquisition contribute to an understanding of disordered child speech.
Research into early speech production has traditionally concentrated on the
order of acquisition of individual segments, especially consonants, carrying
with it the assumption that vowels and consonants are under independent control. This view is strongly attacked in phonetically oriented research into acquisition
and adult sound systems. We will discuss this view in the following text. | |
