Examines picture naming latencies for predicted effects of two word retrieval factors: onset complexity and number of syllables. Results comport with evidence from speech errors and metalinguistic tasks and with predictions of the Node Structure theory of language production, but do not support production theories that do not predict special…

The notion of a universal pattern of phonological development, rooted in basic physiological constraints, is controversial, with some researchers arguing for a strong environmental (ambient language) influence on phonological development or an interaction of both physiological constraints and ambient language effects. This research examines the…

A study investigated the realization of voicing contrasts ("breathiness") in plosive consonants produced by young French adults, particularly as they differ in males and females. Data came from acoustic analysis of recordings of nine informants reading lists of monosyllabic words with initial plosive consonants in isolation and in the content,…

One of a series of semi-annual reports, this publication contains 23 articles which report the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instruments for its investigation, and practical applications. Articles are as follows: "Phonological and Articulatory Characteristics of Spoken Language" (Carol A. Fowler);…

A research project was undertaken to investigate the acquisition of the English sound system by kindergarten children of various first language backgrounds. Sixteen children were selected from three kindergartens in Prince Rupert, British Columbia according to the following criteria: (1) no English was spoken by parents; (2) the child scored 3 or…

A discussion of two aspects of Hindi phonology, schwa deletion and vowel nasalization, compares two theories concerning the processes behind these phenomena. A non-linear analysis is compared with a more traditional, linear notation. Results indicate that in most cases, both sets of rules work equally well but in some, the linear explanation is…

To determine the usefulness of the commonly taught phonics rule, "only pronounce the first vowel in words that contain adjacent vowels" (the VV rule, with the first "v" pronounced with the long vowel sound), two new studies applied it to words with adjacent vowels in several lists and dictionaries. The first study analyzed words containing…

A study examined final vowel qualities in the speech of seven English speakers from the urban Tyneside area of England. It focused on variations in the pronunciation of the final "y" (e.g., city, happy, tiny) and their explanation by way of (1) the resonance characteristics associated with the articulatory gesture, (2) the…

The phenomenon of retroflexion is discussed, and its occurrence in about 150 selected languages is examined from a geographical and a diachronic point of view. The clustering of such languages into distinct areas has been explained through the postulation of a hypothesis regarding their development in language. After a detailed examination of four…

The author presents a proposal for extracting a component of palatalization in sets of Russian phonemes and argues that it is co-occurrent, as a minimum segment, with one consonant phoneme. Morphophonemic implications concerning the entire phonemic system and variations of analysis due to this approach are specified. A rejoinder and an editorial,…

This study progressively examines fundamental principles of articulatory phonetics, French and English phonemics, and theoretical phonetics. The Parisian accent is examined at great length. Vowel charts and phonetically transcribed sample lexical items are included. For a companion document see FL 001 799. [Hard copy not available due to marginal…

This paper is essentially a critical survey of different theoretical approaches to child language in general and to child phonology in particular. The author states her own conviction that language acquisition is different from language retention, that language acquisition is a non-unique process consisting of a multiplicity of devices, that…

This paper argues that Chomsky's and Halle's restriction on the features [+high, +low] are too severe; that this restriction is inconsistent with the generative treatment of affricates, laterally-released stops, and prenasalized stops; and that the restriction is inconsistent with the notion that linguistic descriptions are abstract theories about…

The task of any phonetic theory is to determine the form of a phonetic component by establishing the internal and external constraints on that component. The phonetic component itself converts linguistic knowledge of the structure of the speech act into time-varying commands suitable for control of the articulatory mechanism. Performing involves…

In this second of two studies conducted with portions of the National Speech and Hearing Survey data, the investigators analyzed the phonetic variants from standard American English in the speech of two groups of nonstandard English speaking children. The study used samples of free speech and performance on the Gold-Fristoe Test of Articulation…