The Relation between Order of Acquisition, Segmental Frequency and Function: The Case of Word-Initial Consonants in Dutch

Abstract

The impact of input frequency (IF) and functional load (FL) of segments in the ambient language on the acquisition order of word-initial consonants is investigated. Several definitions of IF/FL and their components are computed using a longitudinal corpus of interactions between 30 Dutch-speaking children (age range: 0;6–2;0) and their primary caretaker(s). The corpus study reveals significant correlations between IF/FL and acquisition order. The highest predictive values are found for the token frequency of segments, and for FL computed on minimally different word types in child-directed speech. Although IF and FL significantly correlate, they do have a different impact on the order of acquisition of word initial consonants. When the impact of IF is partialled out, FL still has a significant correlation with acquisition order. The reverse is not true, suggesting that the acquisition of word-initial consonants is mainly influenced by their discriminating function.