Analysis of phonological processes in the acquisition of complex onset in children with typical phonological development

ABSTRACT Objective: description and analysis of the phonological processes in the acquisition of complex onset by children with typical phonological development in the age ranges of 3;0 and 5;11. Methods: thirty-one students of a public day-care center in Maceió-AL, having no auditory, cognitive, or motor impairment, participated in this study. The data were collected using the ABFW Child Language Test (WERTZNER, 2004); spontaneous speech was also collected. Inferential statistical analysis of the data was performed, and the phonological processes were analyzed in the production of complex onset. Results: we found evidence for late acquisition of this syllabic component in the age range of 5;0-5;11 for both types of complex onsets. In relation to the prevalence of phonological processes, a statistically significant difference was observed between the different processes, with a prevalence of the simplified phonological process for C1V, when taking the two types of complex onset into consideration; however, the 5-year age group, in which there was a prevalence of liquid substitution, was an exception. Conclusion: the most observed phonological processes in children's speech were: simplification of C1V and liquid substitution. These results will contribute to the selection of the lexicon for evaluation and treatment of cases of atypical development.