Acquisition of French Rhotics in Manitoba, Canada

Abstract: Children growing up in the French-minority context across Canada can be exposed to many different French dialects. The varied exposure may influence the development of the production of the French rhotic in children with typical development (TD) and protracted phonological development (PPD). The goal of this study is to identify the rhotic production of French-speaking preschoolers in Canada with TD and PPD in their general development, according to influences of word position and stress of syllable. Thirty-eight French-speaking children (16 girls; 22 boys) took part in this study, including 11 children with PPD and 27 children with TD. Analyses of variance showed a statistically significant main effect for group (TD or PPD), word position (initial or medial), and stress (stressed or unstressed). In addition, there were significant interactions for word position and stress. For the rhotic variant, TD and PPD produced a similar level of variants but in different proportions. For mismatch patterns, children with PPD tended to produce a greater variety in the types of mismatches compared to TD children. A better understanding of variation in production and what is considered as a match or a mismatch is vital to interpreting child phonology data.