Articulation or phonology? Evidence from longitudinal error data

Abstract

Children’s speech difficulties can be motor (phone misarticulation) or linguistic (impaired knowledge of phonological contrasts and constraints). These two difficulties sometimes co-occur. This paper reports longitudinal data from the Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS) at 4 and 7 years of age. Of 1494 participants, 93 made non-age appropriate speech errors on standardised assessments at 4 years, and were able to be reassessed at 7 years. At 4 years, 85% of these children only made phonological errors, 14% made both articulation and phonological errors and one child only made articulation errors (a lateral lisp). In total, 8 of 13 children making both articulation and phonological errors..