A Distinctive Feature Analysis of the Consonantal Substitution Pattern

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Abstract
A review was made of data collected to document consonant articulation problems in 90 children (mean age 72·4 months) who exhibited normal hearing and organic structure. The substitutions for the true consonants in these data were evaluated in the light of a distinctive feature model. Rules were established to predict the form of substitutions. Substitution seems to be governed by stability and similarity. The preferred substitute is the nearest fronted consonant to the sound in question. An alternate to the above substitution appears when the nearest consonant is not in the repertoire of the child; then there is a retrogression to an earlier learned sound which is most similar and stable. Statistical tabulation of errors according to phoneme and feature substitution revealed underlying structure in all but ten children.

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