ERIC Number: EJ845105
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0023-8309
EISSN: N/A
Measuring Phonological Development: A Follow-Up Study of Five Children Acquiring Finnish
Saaristo-Helin, Katri
Language and Speech, v52 n1 p55-77 2009
This study applies the Phonological Mean Length of Utterance measurement (PMLU; Ingram & Ingram, 2001; Ingram, 2002) to the data of five children acquiring Finnish and evaluates their phonological development longitudinally at four different age points: 2;0, 2;6, 3;0, and 3;6. The children's results on PMLU and related measures are discussed together with remarks on individual differences regarding the acquisition of consonants, consonant clusters and word length. During the period analyzed the children's phonetic inventories increase and they gradually overcome the constraints against long words and consonant sequences. The PMLU method's ability to reflect the qualitative changes and individual differences between the children is found to be limited in some respects, although overall development can be noted in the values. The PMLU method's strengths and weaknesses are evaluated critically and improvements suggested. (Contains 6 tables and 4 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Phonemes, Phonology, Individual Differences, Followup Studies, Foreign Countries, Language Acquisition, Phonological Awareness, Comparative Analysis, Toddlers, Longitudinal Studies, Child Language, Child Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Finland
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Mean Length of Utterance
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A