ERIC Number: EJ882155
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Feb
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Phonological Acquisition in Bilingual Spanish-English Speaking Children
Fabiano-Smith, Leah; Goldstein, Brian A.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v53 n1 p160-178 Feb 2010
Purpose: In this study, the authors aimed to determine how between-language interaction contributes to phonological acquisition in bilingual Spanish-English speaking children. Method: A total of 24 typically developing children, ages 3;0 (years;months) to 4;0, were included in this study: 8 bilingual Spanish-English speaking children, 8 monolingual Spanish speakers, and 8 monolingual English speakers. Single word and connected speech samples were obtained for each child. This study examined interaction between the two languages of bilingual children during phonological acquisition through the measurement of (a) "transfer" (the frequency and types of phonological transfer present in the speech of bilingual children); (b) "deceleration" (a slower rate of acquisition for bilinguals as compared with monolinguals); and (c) "acceleration" (a faster rate of acquisition for bilinguals as compared with monolinguals. Results: Findings demonstrated that (a) transfer was evident in the productions of bilingual children, (b) differences were found in accuracy between monolingual and bilingual children, and (c) sound frequency did not predict differential accuracy of either phonetically similar sounds between languages or phonetically dissimilar sounds specific to Spanish or English. Implications: The results from this study indicate that transfer, deceleration, and a possible variation of the acceleration hypothesis occur in bilingual phonological acquisition. Evidence was found for separation and interaction between the bilingual children's 2 languages (J. Paradis & F. Genesee, 1996).
Descriptors: Speech Communication, Phonology, Physics, Interaction, Monolingualism, Bilingualism, Child Development, Word Frequency, Language Acquisition, Comparative Analysis
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel: 800-638-8255; Fax: 301-571-0457; e-mail: subscribe@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A