Our recordings are providing rich data. Sample observations regarding phonological processes¹ are:

Substitution, e.g.,

• trill /r/ replaced by glide [j], as in [ʔazjag] for target /ʔazrag/ ‘blue’ (Qatari boy, age 3 years, 1 month) 
• sibilant /s/ replaced by interdental [θ], as in [ʔaθad] for target /ʔasad/ ‘lion’ (Qatari boy, age 3 years, 1 month)
• approximant /ʕ/ replaced by glottal stop [ʔ], as in [ʔanɛm] for target /ʕɛnab/ ‘grapes’ (Qatari girl, age 2 years, 2 months)

Assimilation, e.g., /b/ assimilating in nasality to /n/ in [ʔanɛm] for target /ʕɛnab/ ‘grapes’ (Qatari girl, age 2 years, 2 months)

Consonant cluster simplification, e.g., deletion of /l/ in [kʲab] for target /kalb/ ‘dog’ (Qatari boy, age 2 years, 8 months)

Similar processes are observed also in other languages.²

¹A phonological process is “...a mental operation that applies in speech to substitute for a class of sounds or sound sequences presenting a common difficulty to the speech capacity of the individual, an alternative class identical but lacking the difficult property (p.1 in D. Stampe, 1979, Stampe, D. (1979). A Dissertation on Natural Phonology. New York: Garland.).    
²See, for example, Z. Hua & B. Dodd (eds.), 2006, Phonological Development and Disorders in Children: A Multilingual Perspective. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Our fieldworkers have begun gathering data. The audio recording uses wireless mics with signals saved as .wav files to an Edirol-09. A Qatari and a Palestinian child show the equipment, below.

Baseline Data for Arabic Acquisition with Clinical Applications

An interdisciplinary project in Linguistics and Children’s Health hosted by Qatar University, funded by the Qatar National Research Fund.

The overall goal of this project is to amass an extensive new body of knowledge about normal Arabic first language acquisition and make it available on the internet for linguistic researchers and speech-language pathologists working with Arabic-speaking children. The new online material will increase our understanding of language acquisition as a human cognitive capacity and provide clinicians with crucial resources needed to improve the quality of life of the children they work with and their families. 

Specifically, the project aims to achieve four online resources:

• Arabic Child Language Database
• Analysis of the Arabic Child Language Database
• Arabic Child Language Norms
• Clinical Reference Materials for Arabic Speech-Language Pathology

The online resources are based on recordings of speech produced by a large sample of children in Qatar, Palestine, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Collaborative institutions: Jordan University of Science and Technology, Newcastle University, HMC Rumailah Hospital, Jeddah Institute for Speech and Hearing

Investigators: Dr. Kimary Shahin, Dr. Haifa Al-Buainain, Dr. Feda Al-Tamimi, Dr. Ghada Khattab

Contacts: Senior Research Associate Dr. Ranya Morsi - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it