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The Development of Prosody in First Language Acquisition
Edited by Pilar Prieto and Núria Esteve-Gibert
[Trends in Language Acquisition Research 23] 2018
► pp. 207–224

Chapter 11
Understanding the development of prosodic words

The role of the lexicon

| Macquarie University

Children’s early speech productions are not entirely adult-like, with syllables and morphemes often missing from early utterances. However, these patterns of development also appear to be influenced by the language being learned. This chapter explores the role of the lexicon as a driving force in understanding both lower Prosodic Word (PW) and higher Phonological Phrase and Intonational Phrase (PP, IP) aspects of children’s early speech. Using evidence from cross-linguistic studies, it shows how the prosodic shape and structure of the ambient lexicon influences the course of PW development and the implications this has for the acquisition of grammatical morphemes such as determiners. It concludes by exploring the implications of these findings for a developmental model of speech planning and production.

Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Prosodic structure
  • Markedness and the growth of prosodic words
    • Early PWs and feet
    • Syllable structure and coda consonants
    • Minimal prosodic words and moras
    • Truncation of unfooted syllables
  • The development of prosodic clitics: Interactions with PW shape
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 24 May 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tilar.23.11dem
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