Acquisition of #sC clusters: universal grammar vs. language-specific grammar

This study is a cross-linguistic examination of the patterns of acquisition of two-member /s/-clusters. Data from six languages (English, Dutch, Norwegian, Croatian, Hebrew, and Polish) gathered from the productions of typically developing children and from children with phonological disorders are analyzed. Correct renditions in the productions showed correlation with the change of C2 from [-continuant] to [+continuant] of the target clusters in Germanic languages, while there was no such correlation in the other languages. The differences in the two groups of languages give support to the specific-language grammar hypothesis which states that children acquire language based on the patterns in the input language, which drive children’s acquisition of phonology; the input triggers the default settings to be set or reset. ; This study is a cross-linguistic examination of the patterns of acquisition of two-member /s/-clusters. Data from six languages (English, Dutch, Norwegian, Croatian, Hebrew, and Polish) gathered from the productions of typically developing children and from children with phonological disorders are analyzed. Correct renditions in the productions showed correlation with the change of C2 from [-continuant] to [+continuant] of the target clusters in Germanic languages, while there was no such correlation in the other languages. The differences in the two groups of languages give support to the specific-language grammar hypothesis which states that children acquire language based on the patterns in the input language, which drive children’s acquisition of phonology; the input triggers the default settings to be set or reset.