The purpose of the current study was to analyze an existing data set featured in Osborne (2020). More specifically, the current study aimed to identify phonological processes occurring in the speech of adolescents and adults with Down syndrome and explore subsequent impacts to speech intelligibility. Phonology coding forms from the Arizona Articulation and Phonology Scale, Fourth Revision were completed by analyzing phonetic transcriptions and audio-recordings generated during the completion of the Word Articulation subtest by participants featured in Osborne (2020). Seventeen distinct phonological processes occurred across all participant responses. Phonological process occurrence and speech intelligibility values were found to have a significant negative correlation value (r(4)= -.7883, p= .063).

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a aquisição do processo fonológico de vozeamento em português brasileiro. Para isso, foram analisados tanto dados naturalísticos de uma criança acompanhada longitudinalmente de 1;4 anos até 4;0 anos, quanto dados experimentais/latitudinais de 46 crianças de 2;0 anos até 4;1 anos. Foi investigada a aquisição de /s,z/ na posição de onset (estudo naturalístico) e também a aquisição de [s,z] nas posições de coda medial e final em ambos os estudos. Verificamos que o período de aquisição dos segmentos na coda foram tardios, se comparados com os períodos encontrados na literatura (Mezzomo, 2003). Por isso, analisamos, também, a aquisição desses segmentos de acordo com o contexto seguinte: pausa, surdo e sonoro. Observamos que o contexto sonoro foi o mais difícil para as crianças, já que a aquisição ocorreu por volta de 4;0 anos. Além disso, analisamos as estratégias utilizadas pelas crianças durante o processo de aquisição e encontramos um padrão relacionado à produção inicial do segmento [s] mesmo em contextos em que a produção deveria ser sonora. Foi feita uma comparação dos resultados obtidos no contexto sonoro dos dois estudos (naturalístico e experimental) com o trabalho de Newton & Wells (2002) que analisa os processos de assimilação, elisão e liaision e constatamos, a partir da análise das ocorrências de vozeamento correto, pausa e outras realizações que o processo de vozeamento não surge assim que a criança começa a produzir sentenças com duas palavras e não está adquirido até os 4;0 anos (última faixa etária analisada). A partir desses resultados, concluímos que o processo de vozeamento é uma regra fonológica a ser adquirida e não um fenômeno apenas fonético (como mostraram os autores). Dado que o processo de vozeamento é uma regra fonológica, concluímos que a análise lingüística, feita a respeito do processo de vozeamento na fala do adulto, está correta ao assumir que a forma subjacente para a regra de vozeamento é o [s], pois também nos dados infantis percebemos uma tendência das crianças em produzir fricativas surdas e evitar a produção de fricativas sonoras. / This research aimed at analyzing the acquisition of the phonological process of voicing in Brazilian Portuguese. To do so, naturalistic data, longitudinally collected from a child since she was 1;4 until she became 4;0, as well as experimental data, latitudinally collected from 46 children from the age 2;0 to the age 4;1, were analyzed. In addition, the acquisition of /s z/ in onset position and in medial and final coda position were investigated in both studies. We observed that the period of segment acquisition was later in comparison to the ones mentioned in the literature ( Mezzomo, 2003). Therefore we also analyzed the acquisition of /s z/, taking into account the following context, that is to say, what there is after them: a pause, a voiceless or a voiced segment. We noticed that the most difficult context for children was the one that contained a voiced segment, since the acquisition of /z/ in coda position occurred only at the age of 4;0. Besides, we analyzed the strategies used by children during the acquisition period of the voicing process and, as a result, we found a pattern in relation to the initial productions: children start producing [s] even when [z] is expected to be produced. We also compared the results that we obtained through the investigation of voiced contexts in both the naturalistic and the experimental studies to Newton and Wells (2002)\'s work, in which the processes of assimilation, elision and liaision are analyzed. Differently from their results, our research showed that the voicing process does not occur as soon as children start producing sentences with two words, since it is not still acquired until the age of 4;0 (the last period analyzed). Based on these results, we concluded that the voicing process is a phonological rule that must be learnt by children and, consequently, it is not a mere phonetic phenomenon, as pointed by the authors. Also based on our results, we concluded that the linguistic analysis done for the adult speech is right when it assumes that [s] the underlying form to which the voicing rule is applied, since we noticed a tendency for children to produce the voiceless fricative [s] and avoid its voiced counterpart [z].

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Os ParÃmetros Curriculares Nacionais de LÃngua Portuguesa (1997, 1998) alertam que o estudo tradicional da ortografia, nas salas de aula, concretiza-se como a prÃtica de exercÃcios de repetiÃÃo de fÃrmulas e de correÃÃo da grafia dos estudantes. Essa metodologia, porÃm, tem se mostrado pouco produtiva, uma vez que as redaÃÃes de alunos das sÃries finais do Ensino Fundamental, bem como de alunos do Ensino MÃdio, ainda revelam muitos erros ortogrÃficos. Ao processo de ensino-aprendizagem da ortografia, falta, entÃo, uma dinÃmica que leve os alunos a reconhecerem as convenÃÃes estabelecidas pelo sistema ortogrÃfico da LÃngua Portuguesa e a terem consciÃncia de suas prÃprias pronÃncias, visto que, mesmo havendo diferentes modos de falar, apenas uma Ãnica notaÃÃo foi convencionada para a modalidade escrita. Pautando-se nos trabalhos de Bisol (2001), Bortoni-Ricardo (2004, 2013), Cagliari (2003), Camara Jr. (2008, 2015), Lamprecht et al. (2004, 2012), Lemle (2001), Morais (2005, 2008), Roberto (2016), Silva (2008), Seara et al. (2011), Soares (1992) e Spinelli e Ferrand (2009), esta pesquisa se debruÃa sobre as dificuldades ortogrÃficas motivadas pela oralidade, enfrentadas por estudantes do 9Â ano do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola da rede pÃblica de ensino. Trata-se de uma pesquisa-aÃÃo, cujos dados serÃo avaliados quantitativa e qualitativamente, que tem como objetivos: i) identificar os tipos e a frequÃncia das dificuldades ortogrÃficas presentes na escrita de estudantes do 9Â Ano do Ensino Fundamental; ii) propor atividades para o tratamento das principais dificuldades ortogrÃficas presentes na escrita desses estudantes; e iii) avaliar a efetividade das aÃÃes de intervenÃÃo aplicadas para o tratamento dos erros ortogrÃficos identificados. Para tanto, foi realizado um diagnÃstico dos erros ortogrÃficos mais frequentes por meio de redaÃÃo e questÃes avaliativas, cujo resultado revelou a monotongaÃÃo como o erro mais comum. Posteriormente, foi proposta uma sequÃncia de atividades para o tratamento desse erro, a qual foi seguida de uma avaliaÃÃo por meio da repetiÃÃo dos procedimentos de diagnÃstico, agora como pÃs-testes. Como resultado, constatou-se que a intervenÃÃo aplicada, fundamentada na reflexÃo sobre o sistema ortogrÃfico da LÃngua Portuguesa e sobre os dialetos e as produÃÃes orais dos prÃprios alunos, contribuiu para reduzir a incidÃncia dos erros de ortografia que foram alvo de tratamento. / The National Curriculum Parameters for Portuguese Language (1997, 1998) alert that the traditional study of orthography in classrooms is fulfilled with the practice of exercises in formula repetition and in the correction of studentsâ spelling. This methodology, however, has proved little productive, since the compositions of students in the final years of primary school, as well as secondary school, still show many spelling mistakes. The orthography teaching-learning process lacks, therefore, a method that helps the students to recognize the conventions established by the Portuguese system of spelling and to be conscious of their own pronunciation, since, although there are different ways to pronounce words, only one notation was stipulated for the written form. Based on the works of Bisol (2001), Bortoni-Ricardo (2004, 2013), Cagliari (2003), Camara Jr. (2008, 2015), Lamprecht et al (2004, 2012), Lemle (2001), Morais (2005, 2008), Roberto (2016), Silva (2008), Seara et al (2011), Soares (1992) and Spinelli and Ferrand (2009), this research approaches the orality-motivated spelling difficulties faced by 9th grade students in a public school. This is an action research, whose data will be evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. The objectives of this research are: i) identifying the types and frequency of spelling difficulties present in the writing of 9th grade students; ii) proposing activities for the treatment of the main spelling difficulties present in those studentsâ writing; and iii) evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention actions used in the treatment of the spelling mistakes that were identified. To that effect, a diagnosis of the most frequent spelling mistakes was carried out through compositions and evaluative questions, and the results showed monophthongization as the most common mistake. Later, a sequence of activities was proposed for the treatment of that mistake, which was followed by an evaluation through the repetition of the diagnosis procedures, now as a post-test. As a result, it was evidenced that the intervention applied, based on the reflection on the Portuguese system of spelling and on the studentsâ dialect and oral productions, contributed to reduce the incidence of the spelling mistakes that were the target of treatment.

Esta tese trata da aquisição do sistema vocálico em posição tônica e pretônica do português brasileiro fazendo uso de dados longitudinais de 3 crianças gravadas semanalmente de 1;0 à 3;5 (ano;mês) provenientes do Banco de dados A aquisição do ritmo em Português Brasileiro Processos de Ancoragem (SANTOS, 2005). O arcabouço teórico assumido é a Teoria da Hierarquia Contrastiva de Traços HCT - (2003; 2009), que prevê que os segmentos da língua sejam lexicalmente representados através de uma hierarquia de traços dependente de processos fonológicos e específica de cada língua. E, uma vez que a hierarquia de traços não é inata, ela deve ser construída pela criança com base no input. Trata-se de um trabalho inovador, pois, além de usar a HCT para explicar a trajetória de aquisição das vogais do PB, aborda questões que ainda estão em aberto na teoria, tal como o papel do input na aquisição fonológica, a variabilidade na aquisição e a reestruturação de hierarquias. Nossos dados mostram que, de fato, as crianças trilham caminhos diferentes para adquirir o sistema vocálico do PB. Enquanto duas delas, L. e Am., iniciam suas hierarquias por ponto de articulação, a terceira A. inicia por altura. Em relação a essas diferenças, discutimos uma proposta de hierarquia contrastiva para o PB que se inicia por altura vocálica (Lee, 2008), e verificamos que essa proposta não dá conta do processo de elisão do dialeto de São Paulo, ao qual as crianças desse estudo estão expostas. Por esse motivo, (i) elaboramos uma proposta de hierarquia contrastiva para esse dialeto a qual se inicia por ponto e (ii) propomos que se os contrastes iniciais infantis impedem que, posteriormente, a gramática infantil dê conta dos processos da língua, a criança reestrutura sua hierarquia assim que possível. A organização da hierarquia e os traços utilizados foram estabelecidos de acordo com a ordem de aquisição dos segmentos (aquisição estabelecida de acordo com a metodologia de Ingram 1981, 1989) e as substituições ocorridas na fala infantil. Em relação à reestruturação, conseguimos evidenciar um momento em que há reestruturação nas hierarquias observando as substituições. Em relação à aquisição da pauta pretônica, partimos da hipótese de que segmentos que sofrem processos fonológicos seriam adquiridos mais tardiamente (cf. MIRANDA, 2013), e, por esse motivo, ambos /e/ e /o/ pretônicas apresentariam diferenças de aquisição em relação às suas contrapartes tônicas. Os resultados mostraram, entretanto, que apenas a vogal pretônica /e/ é adquirida mais tardiamente, o que traz mais evidências aos estudos que defendem que apenas essa vogal é alvo do processo de harmonia vocálica no PB. Dessa forma, ao discutir a aquisição do sistema vocálico em Português Brasileiro a partir da Hierarquia Contrastiva de Traços, conseguimos tratar da influência do input na aquisição vocálica, da variabilidade entre os aprendizes e da reestruturação de hierarquias, o que não é possível a partir de outros arcabouços teóricos. / This thesis deals with the acquisition of the vowel system in tonic and pretonic positions in Brazilian Portuguese, using longitudinal data from three children recorded every week from 1;0 to 3;5 (year; month) from the database Aquisição de Ritmo em Português Brasileiro Processos de Ancoragem (SANTOS, 2005). The theoretical framework assumed is Contrastive Hierarchy Theory - CHT - (DRESHER, 2003; 2009), which proposes that the segments of language are lexically represented by a feature hierarchy dependent on the language and its phonological processes. As the feature hierarchy is not innate, it must be constructed by the child based on input. This is an innovative study because in addition to using CHT to explain the acquisition trajectory for BP vowels, it addresses issues that have not yet been addressed in the theory, such as the role of input in phonological acquisition, variability in acquisition, and the restructuring of hierarchies. Our data show that, in fact, the children take different paths in acquiring the vowel system in BP. While two of them, L. and Am, begin their hierarchies with the place of articulation, the third, A. begins with height. In regard to these differences, we discuss a proposal for a contrastive hierarchy for BP that begins with vowel height (Lee, 2008), and we find that this proposal does not account for the external sandhi process in the São Paulo dialect to which the children in this study are exposed. For this reason, (i) we have put forward a contrastive hierarchy proposal for the dialect which begins with place of articulation and (ii) we have proposed that if children\'s initial contrasts subsequently prevent child grammar handling the language\'s processes, the child restructures its hierarchy as soon as possible. The organization of the hierarchy and features used were established according to the order of acquisition of the segments (acquisition established in accordance with the Ingram\'s methodology 1981, 1989) and the substitutions which occurred in child language. Regarding restructuring, we have identified a moment when there is restructuring in the hierarchies observing substitutions. Regarding the acquisition of pretonic position, we started from the hypothesis that the segments that undergo phonological processes would be acquired later (cf. MIRANDA, 2013) and, for this reason, both pretonic /e/ and /o/ would present differences in acquisition in relation to their tonic counterparts. The results showed, however, that only the pretonic vowel /e/ is acquired later, which provides more evidence for studies that argue that only this vowel is the target of the vowel harmony process in BP. Thus, when discussing the acquisition of the vowel system in Brazilian Portuguese based on Contrastive Hierarchy Theory, we can address the influence of input on vowel acquisition, the variability among learners, and the restructuring of hierarchies, which is not possible using other theoretical frameworks.

Esta tese trata da aquisição do sistema vocálico em posição tônica e pretônica do português brasileiro fazendo uso de dados longitudinais de 3 crianças gravadas semanalmente de 1;0 à 3;5 (ano;mês) provenientes do Banco de dados A aquisição do ritmo em Português Brasileiro Processos de Ancoragem (SANTOS, 2005). O arcabouço teórico assumido é a Teoria da Hierarquia Contrastiva de Traços HCT - (2003; 2009), que prevê que os segmentos da língua sejam lexicalmente representados através de uma hierarquia de traços dependente de processos fonológicos e específica de cada língua. E, uma vez que a hierarquia de traços não é inata, ela deve ser construída pela criança com base no input. Trata-se de um trabalho inovador, pois, além de usar a HCT para explicar a trajetória de aquisição das vogais do PB, aborda questões que ainda estão em aberto na teoria, tal como o papel do input na aquisição fonológica, a variabilidade na aquisição e a reestruturação de hierarquias. Nossos dados mostram que, de fato, as crianças trilham caminhos diferentes para adquirir o sistema vocálico do PB. Enquanto duas delas, L. e Am., iniciam suas hierarquias por ponto de articulação, a terceira A. inicia por altura. Em relação a essas diferenças, discutimos uma proposta de hierarquia contrastiva para o PB que se inicia por altura vocálica (Lee, 2008), e verificamos que essa proposta não dá conta do processo de elisão do dialeto de São Paulo, ao qual as crianças desse estudo estão expostas. Por esse motivo, (i) elaboramos uma proposta de hierarquia contrastiva para esse dialeto a qual se inicia por ponto e (ii) propomos que se os contrastes iniciais infantis impedem que, posteriormente, a gramática infantil dê conta dos processos da língua, a criança reestrutura sua hierarquia assim que possível. A organização da hierarquia e os traços utilizados foram estabelecidos de acordo com a ordem de aquisição dos segmentos (aquisição estabelecida de acordo com a metodologia de Ingram 1981, 1989) e as substituições ocorridas na fala infantil. Em relação à reestruturação, conseguimos evidenciar um momento em que há reestruturação nas hierarquias observando as substituições. Em relação à aquisição da pauta pretônica, partimos da hipótese de que segmentos que sofrem processos fonológicos seriam adquiridos mais tardiamente (cf. MIRANDA, 2013), e, por esse motivo, ambos /e/ e /o/ pretônicas apresentariam diferenças de aquisição em relação às suas contrapartes tônicas. Os resultados mostraram, entretanto, que apenas a vogal pretônica /e/ é adquirida mais tardiamente, o que traz mais evidências aos estudos que defendem que apenas essa vogal é alvo do processo de harmonia vocálica no PB. Dessa forma, ao discutir a aquisição do sistema vocálico em Português Brasileiro a partir da Hierarquia Contrastiva de Traços, conseguimos tratar da influência do input na aquisição vocálica, da variabilidade entre os aprendizes e da reestruturação de hierarquias, o que não é possível a partir de outros arcabouços teóricos. / This thesis deals with the acquisition of the vowel system in tonic and pretonic positions in Brazilian Portuguese, using longitudinal data from three children recorded every week from 1;0 to 3;5 (year; month) from the database Aquisição de Ritmo em Português Brasileiro Processos de Ancoragem (SANTOS, 2005). The theoretical framework assumed is Contrastive Hierarchy Theory - CHT - (DRESHER, 2003; 2009), which proposes that the segments of language are lexically represented by a feature hierarchy dependent on the language and its phonological processes. As the feature hierarchy is not innate, it must be constructed by the child based on input. This is an innovative study because in addition to using CHT to explain the acquisition trajectory for BP vowels, it addresses issues that have not yet been addressed in the theory, such as the role of input in phonological acquisition, variability in acquisition, and the restructuring of hierarchies. Our data show that, in fact, the children take different paths in acquiring the vowel system in BP. While two of them, L. and Am, begin their hierarchies with the place of articulation, the third, A. begins with height. In regard to these differences, we discuss a proposal for a contrastive hierarchy for BP that begins with vowel height (Lee, 2008), and we find that this proposal does not account for the external sandhi process in the São Paulo dialect to which the children in this study are exposed. For this reason, (i) we have put forward a contrastive hierarchy proposal for the dialect which begins with place of articulation and (ii) we have proposed that if children\'s initial contrasts subsequently prevent child grammar handling the language\'s processes, the child restructures its hierarchy as soon as possible. The organization of the hierarchy and features used were established according to the order of acquisition of the segments (acquisition established in accordance with the Ingram\'s methodology 1981, 1989) and the substitutions which occurred in child language. Regarding restructuring, we have identified a moment when there is restructuring in the hierarchies observing substitutions. Regarding the acquisition of pretonic position, we started from the hypothesis that the segments that undergo phonological processes would be acquired later (cf. MIRANDA, 2013) and, for this reason, both pretonic /e/ and /o/ would present differences in acquisition in relation to their tonic counterparts. The results showed, however, that only the pretonic vowel /e/ is acquired later, which provides more evidence for studies that argue that only this vowel is the target of the vowel harmony process in BP. Thus, when discussing the acquisition of the vowel system in Brazilian Portuguese based on Contrastive Hierarchy Theory, we can address the influence of input on vowel acquisition, the variability among learners, and the restructuring of hierarchies, which is not possible using other theoretical frameworks.

La representación teórica dew1 objeto o de un proceso constituye la hipó­tesis del investigador sobre qué es tal objeto o cómo se lleva a cabo dicho proceso. La fonología es un área privilegiada en la que se puede observar esto con facilidad: la ontología fonológica -el conjunto de objetos que confor­man los procesos o fenómenos fonológicos-no está dada a priori ; debe ser construida teóricamente por el lingüista con el fin de dar cuenta de los daros de que dispone. En esta presentación, muestro distintas maneras de representar el conocido fenómeno fonológico de descenso o apertura de las vocales del quechua, desde la concepción de Trubetzkoy hasta la teoría de laoptimalidad.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a aquisição do processo fonológico de vozeamento em português brasileiro. Para isso, foram analisados tanto dados naturalísticos de uma criança acompanhada longitudinalmente de 1;4 anos até 4;0 anos, quanto dados experimentais/latitudinais de 46 crianças de 2;0 anos até 4;1 anos. Foi investigada a aquisição de /s,z/ na posição de onset (estudo naturalístico) e também a aquisição de [s,z] nas posições de coda medial e final em ambos os estudos. Verificamos que o período de aquisição dos segmentos na coda foram tardios, se comparados com os períodos encontrados na literatura (Mezzomo, 2003). Por isso, analisamos, também, a aquisição desses segmentos de acordo com o contexto seguinte: pausa, surdo e sonoro. Observamos que o contexto sonoro foi o mais difícil para as crianças, já que a aquisição ocorreu por volta de 4;0 anos. Além disso, analisamos as estratégias utilizadas pelas crianças durante o processo de aquisição e encontramos um padrão relacionado à produção inicial do segmento [s] mesmo em contextos em que a produção deveria ser sonora. Foi feita uma comparação dos resultados obtidos no contexto sonoro dos dois estudos (naturalístico e experimental) com o trabalho de Newton & Wells (2002) que analisa os processos de assimilação, elisão e liaision e constatamos, a partir da análise das ocorrências de vozeamento correto, pausa e outras realizações que o processo de vozeamento não surge assim que a criança começa a produzir sentenças com duas palavras e não está adquirido até os 4;0 anos (última faixa etária analisada). A partir desses resultados, concluímos que o processo de vozeamento é uma regra fonológica a ser adquirida e não um fenômeno apenas fonético (como mostraram os autores). Dado que o processo de vozeamento é uma regra fonológica, concluímos que a análise lingüística, feita a respeito do processo de vozeamento na fala do adulto, está correta ao assumir que a forma subjacente para a regra de vozeamento é o [s], pois também nos dados infantis percebemos uma tendência das crianças em produzir fricativas surdas e evitar a produção de fricativas sonoras. / This research aimed at analyzing the acquisition of the phonological process of voicing in Brazilian Portuguese. To do so, naturalistic data, longitudinally collected from a child since she was 1;4 until she became 4;0, as well as experimental data, latitudinally collected from 46 children from the age 2;0 to the age 4;1, were analyzed. In addition, the acquisition of /s z/ in onset position and in medial and final coda position were investigated in both studies. We observed that the period of segment acquisition was later in comparison to the ones mentioned in the literature ( Mezzomo, 2003). Therefore we also analyzed the acquisition of /s z/, taking into account the following context, that is to say, what there is after them: a pause, a voiceless or a voiced segment. We noticed that the most difficult context for children was the one that contained a voiced segment, since the acquisition of /z/ in coda position occurred only at the age of 4;0. Besides, we analyzed the strategies used by children during the acquisition period of the voicing process and, as a result, we found a pattern in relation to the initial productions: children start producing [s] even when [z] is expected to be produced. We also compared the results that we obtained through the investigation of voiced contexts in both the naturalistic and the experimental studies to Newton and Wells (2002)\'s work, in which the processes of assimilation, elision and liaision are analyzed. Differently from their results, our research showed that the voicing process does not occur as soon as children start producing sentences with two words, since it is not still acquired until the age of 4;0 (the last period analyzed). Based on these results, we concluded that the voicing process is a phonological rule that must be learnt by children and, consequently, it is not a mere phonetic phenomenon, as pointed by the authors. Also based on our results, we concluded that the linguistic analysis done for the adult speech is right when it assumes that [s] the underlying form to which the voicing rule is applied, since we noticed a tendency for children to produce the voiceless fricative [s] and avoid its voiced counterpart [z].

This study aimed to describe the phonological development of Setswana-speaking children between the ages of 2;0 and 6;5 years. The study objectives were to: 1) describe the acquisition of four aspects of phonology in these children, namely vowels, consonants, lexical tone and phonological processes; 2) contrast Setswana phonological development in monolingual vs multilingual children; and 3) contrast typical vs atypical Setswana speech acquisition and determine the occurrence and nature of speech sound disorders in children acquiring Setswana. The participant group comprised 81 children from the North-West Province of South Africa. All children were attending preschool and were acquiring one of two varieties of Setswana investigated in this study, namely Sekwêna and Setlhaping. Sixty-five participants were acquiring Sekwêna and were recruited from Hebron, and the remaining 16 participants were acquiring Setlhaping and were recruited from Dry-Harts village. The study used a cross-sectional design to detail the stages of phonological development in children aged 2;0–6;5 years. For each of the varieties studied, participants were assigned to groups of six-month age bands (e.g. 2;6– 2;11 years). Findings add to data from a preliminary pilot study on the acquisition of Setswana segmental phonology (Mahura, 2014; Mahura & Pascoe, 2020). Prior to obtaining speech samples from Setswanaspeaking children, revisions were made to the assessment developed in the pilot study. This was done by addressing a number of limitations which had been documented following its use, including ensuring that all consonant phonemes were targeted in the initial word and penultimate syllable positions, as well as including syllabic consonants in these word positions. The picture stimuli were also changed, and an expert panel assessed the revised word list to ensure that all words were linguistically and culturally appropriate. Participants' speech was transcribed online using IPA symbols and audio recorded for later re-transcription to ensure reliability. The findings indicate that children acquiring Setswana have a full set of vowels in their phonetic inventories as early as 2;6 years, and possibly earlier. A large number of consonant phonemes occurring in the Setswana phonological system had either been acquired or mastered by 2;6–2;11 years. This was seen word-initially and in the penultimate syllable position, with only three phonemes still to be acquired at this age word-initially: only two phonemes with rounding, velar plosive /kʷʼ/ and alveolar nasal /nʷ/, were still emerging at 2;6–2;11 years and seen to be acquired at 3;0–3;5 years in the initial word position and voiced palato-alveolar affricate /ʤ/ was absent at 2;6–2;11 years. This phoneme was, however, seen to emerge in the 3;0–3;5-year group. Heterorganic compounds in the initial word position mainly consisted of /fj/ and were only seen in the speech of children who speak the Sekwêna variety. Conclusions on the age at which heterorganic compound /fj/ is acquired could not be made as it was not used by all children acquiring the Sekwêna variety, but instead observed in the speech of several participants across the different age bands. Although consonant clusters were not included in the consonant phonemes elicited as part of this study, they were noted in the inventories of children across the different age groups. A clear reduction in the occurrence of phonological processes was seen across age group, a pattern of development that can be expected in typically-developing children. Some of the phonological processes seen in Setswana-speaking children included assimilation (eliminated after 6;5 years), fronting (eliminated at 3;6 yeas), and stopping (eliminated at 4;0 years). Correct use of lexical tone was observed as early as 2;6–2;11 years. Furthermore, the speech sound skills of bi/multilingual children were found to be comparable to their monolingual peers, and sometimes slightly more advanced. Findings are related to existing theoretical frameworks used to describe speech sound acquisition. While the findings from this study are not yet generalisable to all Setswana-speaking children, they indicate that theoretical frameworks such as Stackhouse and Wells' (1997) psycholinguistic approach and Dodd's (1995; 2005) diagnostic framework can be applied to Setswana. Language specific differences that should be taken into account are presented. This data adds to knowledge on speech sound acquisition in Setswana-speaking children, urgently needed for the early assessment and identification of children with speech difficulties, which has been lacking to date. When speech difficulties are identified and addressed early, children's academic, psychosocial and life outcomes can be improved, but Setswana-speaking children are often not well served by speech and language therapists in South Africa due to a lack of relevant information and resources. This study set out to redress this situation. Lines for future research include using a larger sample of participants to allow data to be more generalisable, developing assessments for speech input processing as well as production and considering aspects of tone more comprehensively.

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Normal phonological development is characterized by phonological processes in preschool children. These processes are sound error patterns, in relation to the adult target, that are expected within the speech of normally developing children. As children grow older, they "outgrow" these developmental errors. Within the black English dialect, speakers may use a combination of these processes and not be considered phonologically impaired within their linguistic community. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare phonological process usage in the speech of lower socioeconomic black and white preschoolers. The APP-R in conjunction with the CAPP was administered to two groups of 15 children to determine if significant differences exist in the usage of phonological processes between the two groups. Group 1 was comprised of 15 black preschoolers from an inner-city preschool program. Group 2 was comprised of 15 white preschoolers from a Headstart program. All children were identified by their respective speech-language pathologist as having normally developing speech for their linguistic community. Data analysis revealed black preschoolers used phonological processes with a higher frequency than white preschoolers. The phonological process usage mean for the black preschoolers was 4.26% (SD = 1.94) and the mean for the white preschoolers was 1.71% (SD = 2.86). Three of the ten basic processes were determined to be significantly different between the two groups, including: consonant sequence omission, strident deviation, and velar deviation. The results were further examined to determine if either group of preschoolers was identified as needing phonological remediation based on their performance on the APP-R. None of the subjects in either group was identified as needing phonological remediation. In conclusion, results indicated black English speaking preschoolers did use significantly more phonological processes in their speech, however, the APP-R did not identify these children as needing phonological remediation. These results demonstrate the APP-R to be an appropriate assessment tool when evaluating the speech of this Portland black English speaking sample.