Consonant inventories of young children from 8 to 25 months

The results of a longitudinal study of seven children's consonant production are reported. Data were collected at monthly intervals between the ages of 8 and 25 months. All glossable and non-glossable utterances that occurred during data collection were combined to determine: (1) the number and types of consonants occurring in the children's syllable-initial and syllable-final inventories, and (2) the relative frequency of occurrence of the major manner and place sound classes. The results were comparable to those of previous investigations, although slightly larger and more diverse consonant types were noted in the children's earliest monthly inventories. The advantages of considering non-glossed vocalizations when assessing a young child’s phonetic abilities are discussed.