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Phonological changes during the transition from one-word to productive word combination*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

KATSURA AOYAMA ,
ANN M. PETERS  and
KIMBERLY S. WINCHESTER
KATSURA AOYAMA*
Affiliation:
Texas Tech UniversityHealth Sciences Center
ANN M. PETERS
Affiliation:
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
KIMBERLY S. WINCHESTER
Affiliation:
Early Childhood Intervention Program, Lubbock Independent School District
*
Address for correspondence: Katsura Aoyama, Department of Speech-Language & Hearing Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th St., Stop 6073, Lubbock, TX 79430-6073, USA. tel: (806)743-5660 ext. 239; fax: (806)743-5670; e-mail: katsura.aoyama@ttuhsc.edu
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Abstract

We investigated developmental changes during the transition from one-word to two-word production, focusing on strategies to lengthen utterances phonologically and to control utterances suprasegmentally. We hypothesized that there is a period of reorganization at the onset of word combinations indicated by decreases in both filler syllables (Fillers) and final syllable lengthening (FSL). The data are from a visually impaired child (Seth) between 1 ; 6.21 and 1 ; 10.26. Seth produced many Fillers until 1 ; 9 when their number decreased for about two weeks after which they changed in nature. FSL was observed until 1 ; 8, but diminished at 1 ; 9. These two regressions coincide with the onset of word combination.

Type
Brief Research Report
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 145 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

[*]

We thank Bob and Seth Wilson for their many kinds of participation and their willingness to make these data public; the editors, anonymous reviewers and Lise Menn for comments on an earlier draft. This study was partially supported by National Science Foundation (grant BNS-8418272) and a seed grant program of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Brian MacWhinney, director of the CHILDES project, also provided support for transcription. We thank Elena Indjieva, John Kupchik and Rachel Nelson for their work on transcribing the data, and Michelle Burnett and Deena Kaminski for their assistance in acoustic analyses.

References

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