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The relation between order of acquisition, segmental frequency and function: the case of word-initial consonants in Dutch*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2012

LIEVE VAN SEVEREN ,
JORIS J. M. GILLIS ,
INGE MOLEMANS ,
RENATE VAN DEN BERG ,
SVEN DE MAEYER  and
STEVEN GILLIS
LIEVE VAN SEVEREN
Affiliation:
University of Antwerp, Department of Linguistics, CLiPS Research Center
JORIS J. M. GILLIS
Affiliation:
Hasselt University, Database and Theoretical Computer Sciences Research Group
INGE MOLEMANS
Affiliation:
University of Antwerp, Department of Linguistics, CLiPS Research Center
RENATE VAN DEN BERG
Affiliation:
University of Antwerp, Department of Linguistics, CLiPS Research Center
SVEN DE MAEYER
Affiliation:
University of Antwerp, Institute for Education and Information Sciences and Statistical Centre of the University of Antwerp (StatuUA)
STEVEN GILLIS*
Affiliation:
University of Antwerp, Department of Linguistics, CLiPS Research Center
*
Address for correspondence: Steven Gillis, University of Antwerp, Department of Linguistics, CLiPS Research Center, Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium. e-mail: steven.gillis@ua.ac.be
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Abstract

The impact of input frequency (IF) and functional load (FL) of segments in the ambient language on the acquisition order of word-initial consonants is investigated. Several definitions of IF/FL are compared and implemented. The impact of IF/FL and their components are computed using a longitudinal corpus of interactions between thirty Dutch-speaking children (age range: 0 ; 6–2 ; 0) and their primary caretaker(s). The corpus study reveals significant correlations between IF/FL and acquisition order. The highest predictive values are found for the token frequency of segments, and for FL computed on minimally different word types in child-directed speech. Although IF and FL significantly correlate, they do have a different impact on the order of acquisition of word-initial consonants. When the impact of IF is partialed out, FL still has a significant correlation with acquisition order. The reverse is not true, suggesting that the acquisition of word-initial consonants is mainly influenced by their discriminating function.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 40 , Issue 4 , September 2013 , pp. 703 - 740
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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Footnotes

[*]

We would like to thank the children and their families who participated in this study. The research reported in this article was supported by a TOP-BOF grant of the Research Council of the University of Antwerp and by a PhD fellowship of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) to the second author. Thanks are also due to two reviewers for many helpful comments.

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