Evidence for [Coronal] Underspecification in Typical and Atypical Phonological Development

Abstract

The Featurally Underspecified Lexicon (FUL) theory predicts that [coronal] is the language universal default place of articulation for phonemes. This assumption has been consistently supported with adult behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) data; however, this underspecification claim has not been tested in developmental populations. The purpose of this study was to determine whether children demonstrate [coronal] underspecification patterns similar to those of adults. Two English consonants differing in place of articulation, [labial] /b/ and [coronal] /d/, were presented to 24 children (ages 4–6 years) characterized by either a typically developing phonological system (TD) or a phonological disorder (PD). Two syllables, /bɑ/ and /dɑ/, were presented in an ERP oddball paradigm where both syllables served as the standard and deviant stimulus in opposite stimulus sets. Underspecification was examined with three analyses: traditional mean amplitude measurements, cluster-based permutation tests, and single-trial general linear model (GLM) analyses of single-subject data. Contrary to previous adult findings, children with PD demonstrated a large positive mismatch response (PMR) to /bɑ/ while the children with TD exhibited a negative mismatch response (MMN); significant group differences were not observed in the /dɑ/ responses. Moreover, the /bɑ/ deviant ERP response was significantly larger in the TD children than in the children with PD. At the single-subject level, more children demonstrated mismatch responses to /dɑ/ than to /bɑ/, though some children had a /bɑ/ mismatch response and no /dɑ/ mismatch response. While both groups of children demonstrated similar responses to the underspecified /dɑ/, their neural responses to the more specified /bɑ/ varied. These findings are interpreted within a proposed developmental model of phonological underspecification, wherein children with PD are functioning at a developmentally less mature stage of phonological acquisition than their same-aged TD peers. Thus, phonological underspecification is a phenomenon that likely develops over time with experience and exposure to language.

Auditory brainstem implantation in children: the case of place of articulation

“…They tended to replace labial and dorsal targets with coronals Moreno-Torres & Moruno-López, 2014). This result is consistent with the theory of Cummings et al (2020), which states that the coronal place of articulation is the default place of articulation, and that the labial and dorsal place of articulation only appear with maturation and exposure to language. It is also possible that the poorer performance on labials is due to the absence of visual cues in the study design of these non-word repetition tasks, such as lip closure .…”

“…In adult speech production, it is evident that the coronal place of articulation is the default place of articulation, also called underspecified place of articulation (see e.g. for an review in the introduction of Cummings et al, 2020). Cummings et al (2020) proposed that acquiring place of articulation is a developmental process, in which first the default [coronal] is acquired, as it is the least complex.…”

“…for an review in the introduction of Cummings et al, 2020). Cummings et al (2020) proposed that acquiring place of articulation is a developmental process, in which first the default [coronal] is acquired, as it is the least complex. Later on, more complex -specified -place of articulation, i.e.…”

“…labial and dorsal, appear as well. Cummings et al (2020) indicated that time and, especially, exposure to language are needed to develop place of articulation. For instance, they suggested that four-to-six-yearold children with phonological disorders have less fine-grained phonological representations, as compared to a typically developing group of peers, resulting in a less mature stage of phonological acquisition, so that they had only acquired coronal place of articulation.…”

“…In addition, children with ABI have had less exposure to language as compared to the control groups. As a result, it is possible that children with ABI are in an earlier stage of development like children with phonological disorders in Cummings et al (2020). This would result in a more extended use of the coronal place of articulation in children's productions and error patterns as well as a more accurate production of this place of articulation.…”