Toddlers' processing of phonological alternations: Early compensation for assimilation in English and French

Using a picture pointing task, this study examines toddlers processing of phonological alternations that trigger sound changes in connected speech. Three experiments investigate whether 2 1/2- to 3-year-old children take into account assimilations - processes by which phonological features of one sound spread to adjacent sounds - for the purpose of word recognition (e.g., in English, ten pounds can be produced as te[mp]ounds). English toddlers (n = 18) show sensitivity to native place assimilations during lexical access in Experiment 1. Likewise, French toddlers (n = 27) compensate for French voicing assimilations in Experiment 2. However, French toddlers (n = 27) do not take into account a hypothetical non-native place assimilation rule in Experiment 3, suggesting that compensation for assimilation is already language specific.