Article contents
The emergence of productive speech and language in Spanish-learning paediatric cochlear implant users*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 March 2013
Abstract
It has been proposed that cochlear implant users may develop robust categorical perception skills, but that they show limited precision in perception. This article explores if a parallel contrast is observable in production, and if, despite acquiring typical linguistic representations, their early words are inconsistent. The participants were eight Spanish-learning deaf children implanted before their second birthday. Two studies examined the transition from babbling to words, and the one-word period. Study 1 found that the participants used the same sound types in babbling and in words, indicating that production is guided by stored motor patterns. No clear evidence of inconsistent production was observed. Study 2 found that in the one-word period CI users develop typical prosodic representations, but that their productions are highly unstable. Results are discussed in terms of the role of auditory feedback for the development of productive language skills.
- Type
- Articles
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013
Footnotes
This work was supported by a grant from the Regional Government of Andalucia (Proyecto de Excelencia P07-SEJ-03119). I would like to thank Santiago Torres, Rafael Santana, and María del Mar Cid for their help in collecting and analyzing the data. I am most grateful to the children, the families, and the therapists who participated in the two studies.
References
REFERENCES
- 11
- Cited by