Abstract
The study tested the impact of the phonological distance between Spoken Arabic (SpA) and Standard Arabic (StA) on quality of phonological representations among kindergarten, first-, second-, and sixth-grade Arabic-speaking children (N = 120). A pronunciation accuracy judgment task targeted three types of StA words that varied in extent of phonological distance from their form in SpA: (a) identical words, with an identical lexical-phonological form in StA and SpA; (b) cognate words, with partially overlapping phonological forms; items in this category varied in degree of phonological distance too; and (c) unique words with entirely different lexical-phonological forms. Multilevel Regression analysis showed that phonological distance had a significant impact on quality of phonological representations across all grades. Growth in quality of phonological representations was mainly noted between the three younger groups and the sixth-graders. Implications for the impact of phonological distance on phonological representations and on language and literacy development are discussed.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 1377-1399 |
Number of pages | 23 |
Journal | Journal of Child Language |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Nov 2018 |
Keywords
- Arabic
- diglossia
- literacy
- phonological distance
- phonological representations
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language
- General Psychology