Consonant correlation model: implications to clinical practice

ABSTRACT Purpose: creating a consonant correlation model, considering the syllabic structure of each consonant and showing likely statistical correlations among them. This model will be based on Implicational model of Feature Complexity (IMFC) and it will consider data of typical phonological acquisition. Methods: the phonological systems of 186 children were analyzed. They were students of public kindergarten schools and were aged between one year, six months to five years, eleven months, and had typical language development. The complexity levels of the model were based on the sounds acquired in each age. After, the correlations among the consonants were analyzed, using the statistical significance and the power of correlations as the criteria to create the model. Results: the consonant correlation model was created with nine levels of complexity. The model shows that the less complex sound is /t/ and the more complex is /l/ in the complex onset position. Many strong and moderate correlations were found among the consonants, except for /(/. The sound with highest number of correlations was /l/ in the simple onset position. Conclusion: the created model pointed many similarities with MICT. It describes details in the typical phonological acquisition and can be a guide to the choice of target sounds in therapy.