Lexical constraints in phonological acquisition

Abstract

Lexical diffusion, as characterized by interword variation in production, was examined in phonological acquisition. The lexical variables of word frequency and neighbourhood density were hypothesized to facilitate sound change to varying degrees. Twelve children with functional phonological delays, aged 3;0 to 7;4, participated in an alternating treatments experiment to promote sound change. Independent variables were crossed to yield all logically possible combinations of high/low frequency and high/low density in treatment; the dependent measure was generalization accuracy in production. Results indicated word frequency was most facilitative in sound change, whereas, dense neighbourhood structure was least facilitative. The salience of frequency and avoidance of high density are discussed relative to the type of phonological change being induced in children's grammars, either phonetic or phonemic, and to the nature of children's representations. Results are further interpreted with reference to interactive models of language processing and optimality theoretic accounts of linguistic structure.