Background noise challenges auditory recognition of speech and may reveal the underlying deficits in auditory word recognition skills. Previous studies have reported an association between children's auditory skills and various linguistic skills, including phonology, although in some languages only. However, language-specific features influence…

This study reports on the acquisition of quantity contrasts in Guina-ang Bontok, an indigenous language spoken in the Philippines. Four-year-old and 5-year-old children's perception and production of quantity contrasts were examined using a pair of names that contrast in the quantity of the medial nasal. Frequencies of the quantity contrast were…

Many children experience recurrent acute otitis media (RAOM) in early childhood. In a previous study, 2-year-old children with RAOM were shown to have immature neural patterns for speech sound discrimination. The present study further investigated the consonant inventories of these same children using natural speech samples. The results showed…

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…

The course of language acquisition from infancy to public primary school was followed in a sample of 56 Finnish children to examine precursors to reading at first grade. Structural equation modeling of continuity suggested effects from growth in early vocabulary to mastery of inflectional forms at preschool age. The early language directly…

A study investigated how 19 Finnish adults who were postlingually severely or profoundly hearing impaired would relearn to recognize vowels after receiving multi-channel cochlear implants. Average vowel recognition was 68% 6 months after switch-on, and 80% 24 months after switch-on. Vowels y, e, and o were most difficult. (Contains references.)…

A study investigated how 19 Finnish adults who were postlingually severely or profoundly hearing impaired would relearn to recognize consonants after receiving multi-channel cochlear implants. Two years after the switch-on, the mean recognition for consonants was 71%. Consonants with alveolar, palatal, or velar transitions were better recognized.…