The Generalization Hypothesis: Final Consonant Deletion

The purpose of this study was to examine the organization inherent in children's misarticulations of final consonant sounds. Four children with consistent omission of final consonants were taught to produce selected exemplars of either final stops or fricatives in a counterbalanced order within a multiple baseline design. Generalization across sound classes was tested. The results indicated that generalization was lawful but restricted to the class of sounds being taught (either stops or fricatives) and did not extend across sound categories. The examination of individual lexical items over time showed variations which seemed to reflect the active role of children during the learning process.