Acquisition of Mandarin phonology: Segment versus tone

Abstract

This study has as its focus the early phonological development of a single Chinese child (L). The period of study ranged from ages 1;6 to 1;10. Specifically, the relationship between early segment and early tone development was studied. In the field of child language, it is not unusual to find valuable research carried out with a limited number of subjects or even a single subject. Studies by Labov and Labov (1978), Shibamoto and Olmsted (1978), Ferguson and Farwell (1975), Ingram (1974), Smith (1973) and Moskowitz (1970) have contributed valuable information regarding early child language development. It is important to note that studies dealing with few subjects or a single subject have demonstrated that individual paths of language learning are more instructive and informative than those which have as their main purpose the identification of universal tendencies (Ferguson and Farwell, 1975).