Acquisition of the German Rhotic by Children With Typical Versus Protracted Phonological Development

The German rhotic (often [ʁ]), tends to be acquired earlier than other rhotics such as /r/, /ɻ/, /ɹ/, whether because of its relatively wide range of acceptable variants or its less complex articulatory configuration. The current study extends research on acquisition of the German rhotic by describing variant and nonvariant outputs in 48 preschoolers with typical versus protracted phonological development (TD–PPD), with reference to preliminary data from one standard German-speaking adult. Children in both developmental groups produced the range of adult variants, although with lower frequency in younger children and those with PPD, especially in clusters and multisyllabic words. Children with PPD showed a greater range and frequency of nonvariant outputs (deletions, substitutions). Although the lack of population-based data on adult variability precludes detailed child–adult comparisons, the study contributes to research on phonological acquisition in the context of variable input.