An Initial Investigation of Phonological Patterns in Typically Developing 4-Year-Old Spanish-English Bilingual Children.

Purpose: This collaborative study investigated phonological patterns in 12 typically developing 4-year-old bilingual (Spanish-English) children.

Method: A single-word phonological assessment with separate versions for English and Spanish was administered to each child. Analyses consisted of a phonetic inventory; percentage of consonants correct; percentage of consonants correct for voicing, place of articulation, and manner of articulation; and the percentage of occurrence for phonological processes.

Results: The results indicated that there were no significant differences between the two languages on percentage of consonants correct; percentage of consonants correct for voicing, place of articulation, and manner of articulation; or percentage of occurrence for phonological processes. However, the children exhibited different patterns of production across the two languages and showed different patterns compared to monolingual children of either language.

Clinical Implications: The preliminary findings suggest that the phonological system of bilingual (Spanish-English) children is both similar to and different from that of monolingual speakers of either language. Compared to monolingual speakers, bilingual children should be expected to exhibit different types of errors and different substitution patterns for target sounds.