Abstract Purpose:This study involved prospective longitudinal data on 5 late talkers to provide information about the course of phonological development in order to identify possible predictors of delayed versus deviant development. Method: Five children (3 boys, 2 girls) were identified as late talkers and divided into a younger group and an older group. Each child was followed monthly for 10 to 12 months (22–33 months for the younger group and 30–42 months for the older group). Two types of monthly language samples (free play and elicited) were obtained to describe the individual courses of phonological development for each child. Independent and relational analyses were completed at each age to describe word-initial and word-final phonetic inventories, syllable structure, syllable diversity, percentage of consonants correct (PCC), sound variability, and error patterns. Results: The results indicated that 3 of the children resolved their late onset of speech by 33 to 35 months of age. In addition to quantitative factors, (e.g., limited phonetic inventory, lower PCC, and more sound errors), qualitative variables (e.g., atypical error patterns, greater sound variability, and slower rate of resolution) also were identified as potential markers of long-term phonological delay. Clinical Implications: This study provides information to clinicians so they can identify those children who are less likely to resolve their late onset of phonological development without direct intervention. Procedures are described for assessing early linguistic behaviors that incorporate independent and relational analyses on more extensive speech samples (elicited and free play). From these analyses, clinicians can examine quantitative and qualitative variables to differentiate phonological delay from deviance.

The aim of this study was to describe the phonological development of Finnish children and to compare phonological development between monolingual Finnish speaking children in Finland and monolingual Swedish speaking children living in Sweden. Twenty Finnish children between 3;1 and 4;10 years old participated in the study. The test used for the Finnish children was a newly established Finnish phonology test, based on the same principles as the Swedish phonology test LINUS. Earlier collected data of Swedish children matching the Finnish participants were used for the comparison between language groups. Comparable words and phonological structures were selected for the comparison. The comparison was made with the measures Whole Word Match (WWM), Word Shape Match (WSM) and Percentage Consonants Correct (PCC). The Finnish children performed well regarding most structures but many of them did not yet master the phonemes /s/, /r/, /d/, word initial consonant clusters and word medial heterosyllabic clusters with /r/. Similar results have been found in earlier studies. No significant differences were found between the two language groups except regarding the phoneme /d/ and consonant cluster /tr/, where the Swedish children performed significantly better. These differences might be explained by the differences between the two languages. For instance, the phoneme /d/ and word initial consonant clusters are more common in the Swedish language than in the Finnish language. Due to the small number of participants, the results cannot be generalized. The huge differences between the two languages, make comparisons complicated and are discussed. / Denna studie hade som syfte att beskriva finsktalande barns fonologiska utveckling samt göra jämförelser i fonologisk språkutveckling mellan enspråkigt finsktalande barn i Finland och enspråkigt svensktalande barn i Sverige. I studien deltog 20 finsktalande barn i åldern 3;1 - 4;10 år, varav 9 var flickor och 11 var pojkar. För testning av finsktalande barn användes ett nyskapat finskt testmaterial som motsvarar det svenska LINUS-testet. Data från svenska barn, som matchade de finska barnen avseende ålder och kön, hämtades från ett redan insamlat svenskt material. Jämförbara strukturer och ord valdes ut för att kunna jämföra språkutvecklingen mellan grupperna. Som jämförande mått användes Whole Word Match (WWM), Word Shape Match (WSM) och Percentage Consonants Correct (PCC). Finsktalande barn presterade överlag väl i de fonologiska mätningarna men uppvisade fortfarande svårigheter med fonemen /s/, /r/, /d/, ordinitiala konsonantkluster samt ordmediala konsonantmöten som involverar /r/. Resultatet stämmer överens med tidigare studier. I jämförelsen mellan de finska och svenska barnen framkom inga signifikanta skillnader förutom avseende ordinitialt /d/ och konsonantklustret /tr/, där de svensktalande barnen presterade signifikant bättre. Dessa skillnader kan eventuellt förklaras av olikheter mellan språken, exempelvis förekommer både fonemet /d/ och ordinitiala konsonantkluster mer sällan i finskan. På grund av lågt deltagarantal går resultatet inte att generalisera. Även de stora skillnaderna mellan språken försvårade en tillförlitlig jämförelse i språkutveckling mellan finsk- och svensktalande barn, något som diskuteras i arbetet.

Esta pesquisa de doutorado investiga a transição do balbucio às primeiras palavras, tendo como intuito verificar se há continuidade entre os dois tipos de produção e identificar os templates. A perspectiva teórica assumida é a dos Sistemas Dinâmicos (THELEN; SMITH, 1994), que prevê mudança, instabilidade, variabilidade e não linearidade, ao longo do desenvolvimento. O termo sistemas dinâmicos, na forma mais genérica, significa sistemas de elementos que mudam ao longo do tempo (THELEN; SMITH, 2006, p. 258). A proposta fonológica da Whole-Word/Templatic Phonology é assumida na análise dos dados infantis. O aspecto inovador desta tese está na discussão a respeito da (des)continuidade ao analisar dados de transição para identificação de templates, isto é, a emergência de padrões sistemáticos que facilitam a expansão do léxico (VIHMAN; VELLEMAN, 2000). Além disso, é também inovador o uso do método quantitativo para a identificação de templates ao longo do desenvolvimento fonológico, pois a literatura tem realizado até o momento estudos qualitativos (VIHMAN; VELLEMAN, 2002; VIHMAN; CROFT, 2007; KEREN-PORTNOY et al., 2008; WAUQUIER; YAMAGUCHI; 2012; KHATTAB; AL-TAMINI, 2012; SZREDER, 2012, entre outros). Assim, o presente trabalho contribui para os estudos a respeito do desenvolvimento fonológico, pois apresenta um estudo quantitativo para identificação de templates, busca a relação entre a emergência deles e a transição do balbucio às primeiras palavras, mapeando a ordem e uso de templates ao longo do desenvolvimento fonológico das crianças. Na análise da transição do balbucio às primeiras palavras, são analisados dados do português brasileiro (PB) de três crianças (M, A e G), no período compreendido entre 9 meses e 2 anos. Na análise, são identificados momentos de instabilidade, o que está de acordo com o que é defendido pelos estudos dinâmicos (THELEN; SMITH, 1994; KELSO, 1995), os quais enfatizam o caráter não linear e instável do desenvolvimento. No que se refere à discussão a 8 respeito da (des)continuidade entre os dois tipos de produção, a comparação da análise fonológica conduzida nos dois períodos traz complicações para a hipótese da continuidade. Embora se observe a sobreposição entre os dois tipos de produção, são identificadas mais diferenças do que semelhanças entre as produções balbuciadas e de palavras. Conclui-se que é equivocado defender uma visão a favor da continuidade assumindo que um módulo fonológico age independentemente do fonético. A continuidade só pode ser atestada se for assumida uma perspectiva que defenda a integração dos dois módulos, como, por exemplo, a Fonologia Articulatória/Gestual (BROWMAN; GOLDSTEIN, 1986; ALBANO, 2001) ou a Fonologia de Uso/Teoria dos Exemplares (CRISTÓFARO-SILVA, 2003). Os resultados mostram que, embora as crianças caminhem para pontos comuns da fonologia da língua-alvo, por exemplo, tamanho de palavra, estrutura silábica, entre outros, diferenças são encontradas no que se refere à transição, às estratégias usadas para expansão do léxico, isto é, uso de diferentes templates, e à ordem de uso e desuso de tais estratégias. Em suma, os momentos de auto-organização do sistema fonológico de cada criança tendem a diferir. / This thesis investigates the transition from babble to first words in order to verify if there is continuity between the periods and identify templates. This work follows the theoretical approach to the study of development Dynamic Systems Theory (THELEN; SMITH, 1994; Kelso, 1995) and its view that the development is characterized by change, instability, variability and non linearity. The term dynamical systems, in its most generic form, means systems of elements that change over time (THELEN; SMITH, 2006, p. 258). The Whole- Word/Templatic Phonology approach is followed in the analysis of child data (VIHMAN; VELLEMAN, 2002; VIHMAN; CROFT, 2007; KEREN-PORTNOY et al., 2008). The innovative aspect of this thesis is that it relates the (des)continuity in the transition from babble to words to templates, i.e., systematic shapes that facilitate expansion of the lexicon (VIHMAN; VELLEMAN, 2000). Furthermore, this research uses quantitative method for the identification of templates. The previous literature used only qualitative methods of data collection (VIHMAN; VELLEMAN, 2002; VIHMAN; CROFT, 2007; KEREN-PORTNOY et al., 2008; WAUQUIER; YAMAGUCHI; 2012; KHATTAB; AL-TAMINI, 2012; SZREDER, 2012, among others). Thus, this research contributes by presenting a quantitative study and by observing templates behaviour through early phonological development. Data from three children aged 9 24 months are analysed. In the analysis, non linearity and instability are observed in the phonological development. In regard to the discussion on (des)continuity, the results do not present many evidences in favour of continuity. Although babble and words are produced in the same session, the two types of production show more phonological differences than similarities. The conclusion is that continuity between babble and words cannot be verified if it is assumed that phonological and phonetic aspects work independently from one another. The continuity can 10 be verified if these two modules are integrated as Articulatory /Gestural Phonology (BROWMAN; GOLDSTEIN, 1986; ALBANO, 2001) and Usage- Based Phonology/Exemplar Theory (CRISTÓFARO-SILVA, 2003) propose. The results show that different children produce similar phonological structures in their phonological development, e.g., word length, syllable structure, among others; which follow the characteristics of the target language. However, differences are found in the transition from babble to words in relation to the strategies used for lexical expansion, i.e., the use of different templates as the order of use and disuse of templates. This study observes that moments of self-organization tend to vary from child to child in the development of phonology.

Esta pesquisa de doutorado investiga a transição do balbucio às primeiras palavras, tendo como intuito verificar se há continuidade entre os dois tipos de produção e identificar os templates. A perspectiva teórica assumida é a dos Sistemas Dinâmicos (THELEN; SMITH, 1994), que prevê mudança, instabilidade, variabilidade e não linearidade, ao longo do desenvolvimento. O termo sistemas dinâmicos, na forma mais genérica, significa sistemas de elementos que mudam ao longo do tempo (THELEN; SMITH, 2006, p. 258). A proposta fonológica da Whole-Word/Templatic Phonology é assumida na análise dos dados infantis. O aspecto inovador desta tese está na discussão a respeito da (des)continuidade ao analisar dados de transição para identificação de templates, isto é, a emergência de padrões sistemáticos que facilitam a expansão do léxico (VIHMAN; VELLEMAN, 2000). Além disso, é também inovador o uso do método quantitativo para a identificação de templates ao longo do desenvolvimento fonológico, pois a literatura tem realizado até o momento estudos qualitativos (VIHMAN; VELLEMAN, 2002; VIHMAN; CROFT, 2007; KEREN-PORTNOY et al., 2008; WAUQUIER; YAMAGUCHI; 2012; KHATTAB; AL-TAMINI, 2012; SZREDER, 2012, entre outros). Assim, o presente trabalho contribui para os estudos a respeito do desenvolvimento fonológico, pois apresenta um estudo quantitativo para identificação de templates, busca a relação entre a emergência deles e a transição do balbucio às primeiras palavras, mapeando a ordem e uso de templates ao longo do desenvolvimento fonológico das crianças. Na análise da transição do balbucio às primeiras palavras, são analisados dados do português brasileiro (PB) de três crianças (M, A e G), no período compreendido entre 9 meses e 2 anos. Na análise, são identificados momentos de instabilidade, o que está de acordo com o que é defendido pelos estudos dinâmicos (THELEN; SMITH, 1994; KELSO, 1995), os quais enfatizam o caráter não linear e instável do desenvolvimento. No que se refere à discussão a 8 respeito da (des)continuidade entre os dois tipos de produção, a comparação da análise fonológica conduzida nos dois períodos traz complicações para a hipótese da continuidade. Embora se observe a sobreposição entre os dois tipos de produção, são identificadas mais diferenças do que semelhanças entre as produções balbuciadas e de palavras. Conclui-se que é equivocado defender uma visão a favor da continuidade assumindo que um módulo fonológico age independentemente do fonético. A continuidade só pode ser atestada se for assumida uma perspectiva que defenda a integração dos dois módulos, como, por exemplo, a Fonologia Articulatória/Gestual (BROWMAN; GOLDSTEIN, 1986; ALBANO, 2001) ou a Fonologia de Uso/Teoria dos Exemplares (CRISTÓFARO-SILVA, 2003). Os resultados mostram que, embora as crianças caminhem para pontos comuns da fonologia da língua-alvo, por exemplo, tamanho de palavra, estrutura silábica, entre outros, diferenças são encontradas no que se refere à transição, às estratégias usadas para expansão do léxico, isto é, uso de diferentes templates, e à ordem de uso e desuso de tais estratégias. Em suma, os momentos de auto-organização do sistema fonológico de cada criança tendem a diferir. / This thesis investigates the transition from babble to first words in order to verify if there is continuity between the periods and identify templates. This work follows the theoretical approach to the study of development Dynamic Systems Theory (THELEN; SMITH, 1994; Kelso, 1995) and its view that the development is characterized by change, instability, variability and non linearity. The term dynamical systems, in its most generic form, means systems of elements that change over time (THELEN; SMITH, 2006, p. 258). The Whole- Word/Templatic Phonology approach is followed in the analysis of child data (VIHMAN; VELLEMAN, 2002; VIHMAN; CROFT, 2007; KEREN-PORTNOY et al., 2008). The innovative aspect of this thesis is that it relates the (des)continuity in the transition from babble to words to templates, i.e., systematic shapes that facilitate expansion of the lexicon (VIHMAN; VELLEMAN, 2000). Furthermore, this research uses quantitative method for the identification of templates. The previous literature used only qualitative methods of data collection (VIHMAN; VELLEMAN, 2002; VIHMAN; CROFT, 2007; KEREN-PORTNOY et al., 2008; WAUQUIER; YAMAGUCHI; 2012; KHATTAB; AL-TAMINI, 2012; SZREDER, 2012, among others). Thus, this research contributes by presenting a quantitative study and by observing templates behaviour through early phonological development. Data from three children aged 9 24 months are analysed. In the analysis, non linearity and instability are observed in the phonological development. In regard to the discussion on (des)continuity, the results do not present many evidences in favour of continuity. Although babble and words are produced in the same session, the two types of production show more phonological differences than similarities. The conclusion is that continuity between babble and words cannot be verified if it is assumed that phonological and phonetic aspects work independently from one another. The continuity can 10 be verified if these two modules are integrated as Articulatory /Gestural Phonology (BROWMAN; GOLDSTEIN, 1986; ALBANO, 2001) and Usage- Based Phonology/Exemplar Theory (CRISTÓFARO-SILVA, 2003) propose. The results show that different children produce similar phonological structures in their phonological development, e.g., word length, syllable structure, among others; which follow the characteristics of the target language. However, differences are found in the transition from babble to words in relation to the strategies used for lexical expansion, i.e., the use of different templates as the order of use and disuse of templates. This study observes that moments of self-organization tend to vary from child to child in the development of phonology.

A new phonological test, LINUS, for Swedish-speaking children between the ages of three and seven, has been developed at the speech and language pathology department at Linköping University. The aim of the present study was to create a reference manual for the long version of the new test. The participants in the present study were children between the ages of five to seven in a medium-sized municipality in the Northern part of Kalmar County, Sweden. In total, 124 native Swedish-speaking children (58 girls and 66 boys) with typical language development participated. The children were divided into two age groups, 5;0-5;11;31 and 6;0-6;11;31 years. The collected data was analysed with respect to acquisition of phonemes and word structure processes. Percentage of correctly produced words (PWC), consonants (PCC) and vowels (PVC) were calculated.All phonemes, except /s/, were established in both age groups. The phoneme /s/ was found to be either substituted or distorted. Among the 5-year old children /s/ was established for 84%, substitutions of /s/ were found in 7% and distortions were found in 23%. Among the 6-year old children /s/ was established for 88%. Substitutions of /s/ were found in 3% and distortions in 16% of the 6-year old children. The phoneme /r/ proved to be a borderline case for acquisition in the younger age group (91%). The most common word structure process in both groups was assimilation. A significant difference between the two age groups was found for assimilation (p=0,022), with lower occurrence in the older group. Two-consonant clusters (CC) and three-consonant clusters (CCC) were not frequently reduced, although it was found that CC-clusters were reduced more frequently than CCC-clusters. Both the age groups had high percentages of correctly produced words, consonants and vowels. The analysis revealed the following results: PWC for 5-years olds was 93% and 6-years olds 97%. PCC for 5-year olds was 98% and for 6-year olds 99%. PVC for both age groups was 100%. An age difference was shown for PWC, but not for the other measures. No gender differences were found. / Ett nytt fonologiskt testmaterial, LINUS, är framtaget för svensktalande barn. I föreliggande studie har referensmaterial till den långa versionen av det nya testet insamlats bland barn 5-7 år i en mellanstor kommun i norra Kalmar län. Totalt deltog 124 barn (58 flickor och 66 pojkar) med svenska som modersmål och typisk språkutveckling. Barnen delades upp i två åldersintervall, 5;0-5;11;31 och 6;0-6;11;31 år. Det insamlade materialet analyserades avseende etablering av fonem och konsonantkombinationer, samt förekomst av ordstrukturprocesser. Andelsmått för korrekt uttalade ord (PWC), konsonanter (PCC) och vokaler (PVC) beräknades.Samtliga fonem, utom /s/, var etablerade i båda åldersgrupperna. Fonemet /s/ realiserades med substitutioner eller kvalitativt marginella avvikelser (KMA). I 5-årsgruppen var /s/ etablerat för 84% av deltagarna. Bland 5-åringarna förekom substitutioner av /s/ hos 7% och KMA förekom hos 23%. I 6-årsgruppen var /s/ etablerat till 88%, och det förekom substitutioner hos 3% av 6-åringarna, och KMA förekom hos 16%. Fonemet /r/ visade sig vara ett gränsfall avseende etablering för den yngre åldersgruppen (91%). Den vanligaste ordstrukturprocessen för båda grupperna var assimilationer. Signifikanta skillnader mellan de två åldersgrupperna återfanns avseende assimilationer, p=0,022. Förekomsten av assimilationer minskade med stigande ålder. Tvåkonsonantskombinationer (CC) och trekonsonantskombinationer (CCC) visade sig ej vara påverkade av förenklingar i någon större grad. Dock visade sig CC-kombinationer vara mer utsatta för förenklingar än CCC-kombinationer. Båda åldersgrupperna hade höga andelar korrekt uttalade ord, konsonanter och vokaler. De två grupperna fick följande resultat: PWC för 5-åringar var 93% och 6-åringar 97%. PCC var 98% respektive 99% för grupperna. PVC var 100% för båda åldersgrupperna. Åldersskillnader kunde ses för PWC, dock inte för de andra måtten. Inga könsskillnader noterades.

Prosody can be characterized as the rhythm and the melody of speech. Prosodic features convey emotions, thoughts and geographic origins of each individual. Spoken language without prosody would be monotonous, without variations in loudness and rate. Children with cochlear implants perceive speech in a different way than children with normal hearing. Consequently the speech produced by a child with cochlear implants may sound different. The purpose of this study was to examine prosodic skills in Swedish children with cochlear implants and to compare them with the prosodic skills in Swedish children with normal hearing. The purpose of the study was also to examine differences between these two groups and to characterize those differences. Eight children with cochlear implants and eight controls matched to age, sex and regional accent were included in the study. The children’s production and perception of prosody was tested. The results show that there are differences in prosodic skills between the children with cochlear implants and their matched controls at word, phrase and discourse levels. The differences were significant in production but not in perception. Observed differences in the speech of the children with cochlear implants included omission of unstressed syllables and function words, difficulties producing contrast of tonal word accents and pro-longed maintenance of phonological processes. The study contributes to the knowledge about prosodic and linguistic skills in Swedish children with cochlear implants.

<p>Prosody can be characterized as the rhythm and the melody of speech. Prosodic features convey emotions, thoughts and geographic origins of each individual. Spoken language without prosody would be monotonous, without variations in loudness and rate. Children with cochlear implants perceive speech in a different way than children with normal hearing. Consequently the speech produced by a child with cochlear implants may sound different.</p><p>The purpose of this study was to examine prosodic skills in Swedish children with cochlear implants and to compare them with the prosodic skills in Swedish children with normal hearing. The purpose of the study was also to examine differences between these two groups and to characterize those differences.</p><p>Eight children with cochlear implants and eight controls matched to age, sex and regional accent were included in the study. The children’s production and perception of prosody was tested.</p><p>The results show that there are differences in prosodic skills between the children with cochlear implants and their matched controls at word, phrase and discourse levels. The differences were significant in production but not in perception. Observed differences in the speech of the children with cochlear implants included omission of unstressed syllables and function words, difficulties producing contrast of tonal word accents and pro-longed maintenance of phonological processes.</p><p>The study contributes to the knowledge about prosodic and linguistic skills in Swedish children with cochlear implants.</p>

本篇論文是針對六位以台灣華語為母語的嬰幼兒，採長期觀察的方式，研究 台灣華語字彙產製的音韻變化性(phonological variability)，並詳細描述單音節詞和雙音節詞之中音節類型出現的頻率、變化性、以及代換模式。本研究同時要用Jakoson (1968)的音節標記理論來檢驗各種音節類型中的共通性。 本研究一共觀察了有六位年齡在十一個月至兩歲的嬰幼兒長達一年。以兩個 禮拜一次的頻率收集嬰幼兒和母親之間的自然對話，並利用錄製回來的影音檔做 譯寫和分析。 結果顯示小朋友的音韻變化是很常見的，且是有規則可循的。小朋友的音韻變異量的高峰(variability peak)會出現在當小朋友的音韻發展從一個階段進展到另一個階段的時候，而本篇論文顯示與當小朋友由單字期(one-word stage)進展到雙字期(two-word stage)以及字彙量有大幅上升的時期符合。華語音節習得的部分，結果顯示CV 是頻率最高、變化性最低，且最常被拿來替換的音節類型。CVG 也是頻率高的音節類型之一，但他的變化性也很高，主要是因為韻尾省略 (coda-dropping)的現象在小朋友的早期發展很常見的關係，所以CVG 雖然頻率高但是變化性也很高而且是最常被取代的音節類型之一。 最後，將所有的結果拿來檢驗Jakoson (1968)的音節標記理論，結果發現頻 率高以及變化性低的音節類型都是無標記(unmarked)的音節類型，相反的頻率低 以及變化性高的音節類型則都是有標記的(marked)音節類型，此外小朋友會用無 標記的音節類型來取代有標記的音節類型。 / The purpose of this study is to discuss the issue concerning phonological variability of children acquiring Taiwan Mandarin. Two aspects are including in the following: the phonological variability of words and the syllable types composed the words. The overall variability pattern, the frequency, variability rate, and substitution pattern of syllable type were analyzed. Six participants are investigated in the study, aged between 0;11 to 2;0. A longitudinal observation study is conducted by the author and the research team. The results showed that phonological variability is common in early phonological development. The increase in variability reflects the reorganization of phonological system, where children started to produce two-word utterances and the amount of different words was increased. As for the syllable type analysis, CV presented the highest in frequency, the lowest in variability rate, and also was used to replace other syllable type more often. CVG was one of the most frequently used syllable type; however, the variability rate of CVG was also high. The reason may due to the fact coda-dropping is a very common phenomenon in children’s development. The results in this study were examined in the markedness theory of syllable proposed by Jakobson (1968). The results showed that syllable types with higher frequency and lower variability rates were unmarked syllable types, while syllable types with lower frequency and higher variability rates were marked syllable types. Furthermore, children tended to use a more unmarked syllable to replace a more marked syllable.

Children with pronunciation difficulties are at risk of consequences later on, such as reading and writing difficulties. Problems with pronunciation could make a child less intelligible and affect their ability to discriminate between different speech sounds. To facilitate the assessment of pronunciation difficulties it is necessary to use appropriate and updated assessment tools suitable to analyze the children’s phonological development. The Swedish pronunciation test, Bedömning Av Fonologi (B.A.F.), has therefore been developed. This new test can be used by professionals to evaluate the phonological realisations of children. The purpose of this study was to gather normative data of 4 and 5 year olds for B.A.F. and to investigate if girls and boys performed differently concerning the pronunciation of the words in B.A.F. Furthermore, the intention was to investigate if there was any correlation in the performance of the words in B.A.F. with oral motor precision (by oral motor movements tasks), oral motor speed (by repeating syllables) as well as auditory perception (by repetition of nonwords). 63 children (36 girls and 27 boys) in the ages of 48 to 71 months participated in the study. The results showed that by using B.A.F. it is possible to see that the number of correctly pronounced words increases with age. Further, the results indicated that children in the ages of four and five had established /p, t, k, d, f, v, j, h, l, m, n/ and /ŋ/ and all the vocals except /y:/ and /Y/. The only speech sound that did not prove to be established was /r/. Neither the 4 nor the 5 year olds had established consonant clusters containing /r/. A significant correlation was found between oral motor speed and correctly pronounced words in B.A.F. The children’s auditory perception also correlated with the number of correctly pronounced words in B.A.F. This study suggests that skills concerning auditory perception and oral motor speed have more effect on pronunciation skills than oral motor precision. The results gave no indication of a difference in pronunciation between girls and boys. / Barn med uttalssvårigheter löper risk för senare konsekvenser, som exempelvis läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Problem med uttal kan göra ett barn svårförståeligt för omgivningen och kan påverka förmågan att särskilja mellan språkljud. För att underlätta bedömningen av uttalssvårigheter behövs uttalstest som är aktuella och anpassade efter barns utveckling. Därför har det nya uttalstestet Bedömning Av Fonologi (B.A.F.) producerats. Med hjälp av B.A.F. kan barns fonologi undersökas genom uttal av språkljud i ord. Denna studie syftade till att ta fram normativa data för testet hos 4- och 5-åringar. Studien syftade även till att undersöka om några skillnader mellan könen gällande prestationen på B.A.F. fanns samt om något samband mellan uttal av orden i B.A.F. och ett antal uppgifter som mätte oralmotorisk precision (oralmotoriska rörelser) och snabbhet (upprepning av stavelser), samt auditiv perception (repetition av nonord) kunde påvisas. I studien deltog 63 barn (36 flickor och 27 pojkar) i åldrarna 4;0 år till 5;11 år. Under analysen delades barnen in i grupper av halvårsintervall. Resultaten visade att man i B.A.F. kan se att antal korrekt uttalade ord ökar i linje med stigande ålder. Det påvisades även att barn i fyra- och fem årsåldern etablerat /p, t, k, d, f, v, j, h, l, m, n/ och /ŋ/ samt alla vokaler utom /y:/ och /Y/. Det enda konsonantfonem som ej visade sig vara etablerat i dessa åldrar var /r/. Ingen av åldersgrupperna hade heller etablerat kluster innehållandes /r/. Ett signifikant samband kunde påvisas mellan oralmotorisk snabbhet och antal korrekt uttalade ord i B.A.F. Även barnens auditiva perception korrelerade signifikant med antal korrekt uttalade ord i B.A.F. Föreliggande studie tyder på att auditiv perception och oralmotorisk snabbhet har ett större samband med uttalet än oralmotorisk precision. Inga uttalsskillnader mellan könen framkom.

L'obiettivo del presente lavoro è quello di esaminare criticamente le prospettive teoriche più note sul problema delle relazioni tra sviluppo concettuale del bambino ed acquisizione della prima lingua. Per quanto il lavoro si concentri in particolare sullo sviluppo della componente lessicale, ovvero sul legame tra concetti e apprendimento delle parole con cui gli stessi vengono codificati, verranno necessariamente trattati anche alcuni aspetti relativi alla competenza morfologica e sintattica. Dopo aver presentato sinteticamente le principali teorie proposte nell'ambito della linguistica acquisizionale e della psicologia dello sviluppo, procederemo ad una problematizzazione e discussione dei punti critici delle stesse alla luce dei risultati ottenuti in sede sperimentale negli ultimi anni. Partendo dalla consapevolezza che nell'ambito della linguistica, forse ancor più che in altre discipline, il contrasto tra impostazioni teoriche diverse si traduce spesso in discrepanze significative nell'interpretazione degli stessi dati empirici, abbiamo cercato di dare lo stesso spazio ai vari orientamenti teorici. L'obiettivo di questa tesi, infatti, non è quello di dare giudizi di merito sulla validità di una teoria in quanto tale rispetto ad un'altra, quanto di discutere in modo trasversale i nodi più problematici delle varie teorie e le implicazioni delle stesse. Questo intento è particolarmente evidente nelle conclusioni della tesi, strutturate intorno ad una serie di domande di ricerca. / This work provides a critical overview of the major theoretical perspectives on the relationships between conceptual development and first language acquisition. While our focus is on lexical development (ie. on the relation between learning a word and acquiring the relevant concept), we will also touch on some aspects which pertains more specifically to morphological and syntactical development. After briefly introducing the major theories developed in the field of first language acquisition and developmental psychology, we will discuss them in the light of experimental data collected in recent years. As the same empirical findings tend to be interpreted in completely different ways, in our work we tried to give voice to authors supporting different views. Our goal is not to assess the merits of these theores as such, but to take this comparison as an opportunity to discuss the implications and issues thereof. This will be particularly clear in the Conclusions of our work, which are structured as a series of research questions.