Evaluating phonological development of young Jordanian children using whole-word and segmental measures

PURPOSE: This study describes the phonological abilities of Jordanian Arabic-speaking children using whole-word measures. Phonological mean length of utterance, proportion of whole-word proximity, percentage of consonants correct , and proportion of whole-word correctness were used to measure the phonological development of 30 typically developing children. METHOD: The children were divided into three age groups 1;7-2;0, 2;1-2;6, and 2;7-3;0 years, 10 participants in each group. Using age-appropriate toys, children interacting with their parents and caregivers were observed and recorded. The phonological mean length of utterance calculation was adapted to include the gemination rule, which awards two points for preserving the geminate and two for the correctness of the geminate. RESULT: We revealed significant mean differences on all the measures based on age. Statistical analysis of the data showed significant correlations between the phonological mean length of utterance, proportion of whole-word proximity, and percentage of consonants correct measures; whereas proportion of whole-word correctness did not correlate with other measures. For the oldest age group, the correlation between proportion of whole-word proximity and percentage of consonants correct was moderately strong. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that the four measures might be effectively used to gauge phonological abilities in Jordanian Arabic-speaking children.