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English is one of eleven official languages in South Africa, but there is limited information on children’s acquisition of English and other languages in this context. This paper describes speech development in 308 children aged 3;0-5;11 acquiring South African English in Cape Town. The study focused on English speech acquisition, although children were grouped by language background into monolingual, isiXhosa bilingual, Afrikaans bilingual and trilingual groups. The primary objective was to describe phonetic and phonological acquisition (percentage consonants and vowels correct (PCC and PVC); phonetic inventory and phonological processes) by children’s age and language background. As a secondary objective we described the prevalence of speech disorders in the sample using Dodd’s (2005) framework. The Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology was used to assess participants with modified scoring criteria appropriate for the context. Phonological processes and inventories were broadly comparable to normative data for English speech acquisition documented in the literature, and a progression was observed with increasing age. PCC and PVC were similar for children within age bands despite different language backgrounds. Bilingual children showed aspects of English phonological development linked to their L1, and some differences in phonological processes were observed. Approximately 9% of children (n = 28) had speech difficulties, with 75% of this group having a speech delay. The study highlights the importance of adapting speech assessments for use with populations that differ from the originally intended audience. This work contributes to knowledge of typical speech development in South Africa and in multilingual contexts more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standardized assessments of children's isiXhosa phonology have not yet been developed and there is limited information about developmental norms in this language. This article reports on the phonological development of 24 typically developing first language isiXhosa-speaking children aged 3;0-6;0 years, in Cape Town, South Africa. The order and age of acquisition of isiXhosa phonemes, emergence and elimination of phonological processes and percentage consonants and vowels correct are described. A set of culturally and linguistically appropriate pictures was used to elicit single word responses that were recorded and transcribed. The study found that children had acquired most isiXhosa phonemes by 3;0 years although aspirated plosives, affricates, fricatives and clicks were still developing. In particular, the affricates and aspirated plosives were still developing in the 5-year-old children in this sample, suggesting that these may be the latest acquired segments. Children were able to produce basic word shapes by 3;0 years, but some of the words of 4-6 syllables were still being mastered by the 4- and 5-year-old children. Phonological processes that have been well documented for other languages were used by children in this sample (e.g. deaffrication, stopping and gliding of liquids). Findings presented for this pre-school-aged sample are related to theories of phonological acquisition to provide normative data on phonological development in isiXhosa-speaking children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]