ISCA Archive issp 2024
ISCA Archive issp 2024

Task effects and phonological error patterns in Australian English-Dutch bilingual children

Hayo Terband, Bhavana Bhat, Anniek van Doornik

Determining if suspected speech ‘abnormalities’ in bilingual children are due to bilingual language acquisition or due to a speech sound disorder is a challenging task for speech- language pathologists (SLPs). This study aims to investigate how the productions on non-word imitation (NWI) of English- Dutch bilingual children differ from other speech tasks, both in direct comparison and relative to norm data. 77 typically developing Australian English-Dutch bilingual children ages 4 to 12 years, participated in this study. All children completed the Dutch test battery, the Computer Articulation Instrument (CAI). Data on language exposure were collected through parent/caregiver questionnaires. The English-Dutch bilingual children scored lower than the norm data on picture naming and consistency task but not on non-word imitation and MRR tasks, confirming these tasks as the most language-neutral. A detailed phonological error analysis indicates that VOT, fricatives, and vowels need attention of SLPs assessing English-Dutch bilingual children.