Phonetic-phonological development in preschool-aged children is characterized by the gradual stabilization of the language’s phonetic inventory and syllabic structures. Among these, consonant clusters represent complex phonotactic structures that are acquired relatively late (McLeod et al., 2001). For the Italian language, studies on their development are still limited (Zmarich et al., 2012; Tresoldi et al., 2018), and differences in production and simplification strategies between typically developing children and children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) have not been thoroughly investigated. The present study explores the phonetic-phonological development of consonant clusters in preschool children, comparing the productions of typically developing children with those of children with speech delay or Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), in order to identify possible differences in their developmental acquisition trajectories. The sample consists of 69 observations from children aged between 3;0 and 5;11 years, divided into three 12-month age groups (3;0-3;11, 4;0-4;11, and 5;0-5;11). Of these, 57 observations belong to the typically developing group and 12 to the clinical group, which includes children with speech delay or Developmental Language Disorder. Phonetic-phonological production was assessed using a naming task including words selected to investigate different types of consonant clusters occurring in Italian. The task allowed the construction of each child’s phonetic inventory and the analysis of two-consonant clusters, three-consonant clusters, and clusters composed of two consonants plus a diphthong. Data were collected through video recordings and transcribed using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Subsequently, they were subjected to quantitative analyses by comparing consonant-cluster production accuracy across the different age groups within the typically developing group and between the typically developing and clinical groups. Finally, qualitative analyses were carried out to compare and identify the main simplification strategies observed. The results show a gradual increase in consonant-cluster production accuracy with increasing age. The comparison between the two groups also reveals a gap between typically developing children and children with DLD, with lower performance in the clinical group. Differences also emerge regarding the types of errors: children with DLD show a greater tendency to reduce the phonotactic structure of the target. A particular error pattern emerged in the production of words containing heterosyllabic clusters with /m/, in which the clinical group showed a greater tendency to omit the secondary consonant. These results suggest that differences between typical development and DLD may involve not only the timing of consonant-cluster acquisition, but also the simplification strategies adopted. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how consonant clusters are acquired in Italian and helps to outline the differences between typical and atypical language development. Despite the small sample size, the analysis of the accuracy of speech in relation to age and the simplification strategies employed can provide useful information for phonetic-phonological assessment and for identifying features potentially indicative of persistent difficulties. These findings may also contribute to clinical speech-language pathology practice by supporting the assessment of the phonetic-phonological profile and the planning of more targeted interventions.
Lo sviluppo fonetico-fonologico in età prescolare è caratterizzato dalla progressiva stabilizzazione dell’inventario fonetico e delle strutture sillabiche della lingua. Tra queste, i gruppi consonantici rappresentano configurazioni fonotattiche relativamente complesse e a stabilizzazione tardiva (McLeod et al., 2001). Per la lingua italiana, gli studi sul loro sviluppo sono ancora limitati (Zmarich et al., 2012; Tresoldi et al., 2018) e risultano poco approfondite le differenze nella produzione e nelle strategie di semplificazione tra bambini a sviluppo tipico e bambini con Disturbo Primario del Linguaggio (DPL). Il presente studio esplora lo sviluppo fonetico-fonologico dei gruppi consonantici in bambini di età prescolare, confrontando le produzioni di bambini a sviluppo tipico con quelle di bambini con ritardo o Disturbo Primario del Linguaggio (DPL), al fine di individuare eventuali differenze nelle traiettorie evolutive di acquisizione. Il campione finale comprende 69 rilevazioni relative a bambini di età compresa tra 3;0 e 5;11 anni, suddivisi in tre fasce di età a intervalli di 12 mesi (3;0-3;11, 4;0-4;11 e 5;0-5;11). Di queste, 57 rilevazioni appartengono al gruppo a sviluppo tipico e 12 al gruppo clinico, costituito da bambini con ritardo di linguaggio o Disturbo Primario di Linguaggio. La produzione fonetico-fonologica è stata indagata mediante una prova di denominazione comprendente parole selezionate per analizzare differenti tipologie di gruppi consonantici presenti nella lingua italiana. La prova ha permesso di indagare i diversi foni dell’italiano, attraverso la costruzione dell’inventario fonetico di ciascun bambino e l’analisi della produzione di gruppi biconsonantici, triconsonantici e di gruppi biconsonantici associati a dittongo. Le produzioni sono state videoregistrate e successivamente trascritte mediante Alfabeto Fonetico Internazionale (IPA). Successivamente sono state condotte analisi di tipo quantitativo basate sul confronto della correttezza di produzione dei gruppi consonantici tra le diverse fasce d’età del gruppo a sviluppo tipico e tra il gruppo a sviluppo tipico e il gruppo clinico. Infine, le analisi qualitative sono state finalizzate al confronto e all’individuazione delle principali strategie di semplificazione adottate. I risultati mostrano un progressivo aumento della correttezza nella produzione dei gruppi consonantici con l’avanzare dell’età. Il confronto tra i due gruppi evidenzia inoltre un divario tra bambini a sviluppo tipico e bambini con DPL, con prestazioni complessivamente inferiori nel gruppo clinico. Differenze emergono anche relativamente alla tipologia degli errori: nei bambini con DPL si osserva una maggiore tendenza alla riduzione della struttura fonotattica del target. Un errore particolare è emerso dalla produzione di parole contenenti gruppi eterosillabici con /m/, in cui il gruppo clinico mostra una maggiore tendenza all’omissione della consonante secondaria. Tali risultati suggeriscono che le differenze tra sviluppo tipico e DPL non riguardino esclusivamente i tempi di acquisizione dei gruppi consonantici, ma anche le strategie adottate nella loro semplificazione. Lo studio contribuisce ad approfondire le conoscenze relative alle modalità di acquisizione dei gruppi consonantici nell’italiano e a delineare le differenze tra sviluppo tipico e sviluppo linguistico atipico. Nonostante la limitata numerosità del campione, l’analisi della correttezza delle produzioni in relazione all’età e delle strategie di semplificazione adottate può fornire informazioni utili per la valutazione fonetico-fonologica e per l’individuazione di caratteristiche potenzialmente indicative di una difficoltà persistente. Tali evidenze possono inoltre offrire un contributo alla pratica clinica logopedica, supportando l’inquadramento del profilo fonetico-fonologico e la pianificazione di interventi maggiormente mirati.
Lo sviluppo fonetico e fonologico dei gruppi consonantici in età prescolare: confronto tra Sviluppo Tipico e Disturbo Primario di Linguaggio
PICONESE, MARTINA
2025/2026
Abstract
Phonetic-phonological development in preschool-aged children is characterized by the gradual stabilization of the language’s phonetic inventory and syllabic structures. Among these, consonant clusters represent complex phonotactic structures that are acquired relatively late (McLeod et al., 2001). For the Italian language, studies on their development are still limited (Zmarich et al., 2012; Tresoldi et al., 2018), and differences in production and simplification strategies between typically developing children and children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) have not been thoroughly investigated. The present study explores the phonetic-phonological development of consonant clusters in preschool children, comparing the productions of typically developing children with those of children with speech delay or Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), in order to identify possible differences in their developmental acquisition trajectories. The sample consists of 69 observations from children aged between 3;0 and 5;11 years, divided into three 12-month age groups (3;0-3;11, 4;0-4;11, and 5;0-5;11). Of these, 57 observations belong to the typically developing group and 12 to the clinical group, which includes children with speech delay or Developmental Language Disorder. Phonetic-phonological production was assessed using a naming task including words selected to investigate different types of consonant clusters occurring in Italian. The task allowed the construction of each child’s phonetic inventory and the analysis of two-consonant clusters, three-consonant clusters, and clusters composed of two consonants plus a diphthong. Data were collected through video recordings and transcribed using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Subsequently, they were subjected to quantitative analyses by comparing consonant-cluster production accuracy across the different age groups within the typically developing group and between the typically developing and clinical groups. Finally, qualitative analyses were carried out to compare and identify the main simplification strategies observed. The results show a gradual increase in consonant-cluster production accuracy with increasing age. The comparison between the two groups also reveals a gap between typically developing children and children with DLD, with lower performance in the clinical group. Differences also emerge regarding the types of errors: children with DLD show a greater tendency to reduce the phonotactic structure of the target. A particular error pattern emerged in the production of words containing heterosyllabic clusters with /m/, in which the clinical group showed a greater tendency to omit the secondary consonant. These results suggest that differences between typical development and DLD may involve not only the timing of consonant-cluster acquisition, but also the simplification strategies adopted. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how consonant clusters are acquired in Italian and helps to outline the differences between typical and atypical language development. Despite the small sample size, the analysis of the accuracy of speech in relation to age and the simplification strategies employed can provide useful information for phonetic-phonological assessment and for identifying features potentially indicative of persistent difficulties. These findings may also contribute to clinical speech-language pathology practice by supporting the assessment of the phonetic-phonological profile and the planning of more targeted interventions.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/119305