Acquisition of stress in the speech of Ammani Arabic-speaking children

The aim of this research is to examine the developmental stages of acquiring stress in the speech of Ammani Arabic-speaking children (henceforth AASC). Elicited and spontaneous speech productions of 48 typically developing children were transcribed and coded with the primary stress. Words were also analyzed according to their metrical shapes. The children were divided into four age groups: (1; 0–1; 6), (1; 7–2; 0), (2; 1–2; 6), and (2; 7–3; 0). Data were collected through spontaneous speech samples and picture-naming tasks. Acquisition of stress goes through the four developmental stages until they become adult-like at the age of 3. Children misplace stress in the first two age stages, using an iambic foot in forms having a trochic shape. Thus, they place stress on a syllable with a geminate irrespective of the weight of other syllables. The stress shift stopped when children reached 30 months. Results support the neutral-start hypothesis which shows that children have no bias for any stress type; instead they use both trochaic and iambic feet at the outset of speaking. It was shown that adult weak forms are more likely to be omitted in children's production, and stressed and final ones are often preserved. This conforms with the widely accepted Perceptual Salience. •This research examines the developmental stages of acquiring stress in the speech of Ammani Arabic-speaking children.•A key finding is that stress goes through the four developmental stages until they become adult-like at the age of 3.•Children use iambic feet in the first two age stages, placing stress on a syllable with a geminate regardless syllable weight.•Results support the neutral-start hypothesis which shows that children have no bias for any stress type.