Evidence from English suggests that phonological acquisition in the early stages is word-based.
Data are gathered in clinical treatment of children with functional phonological delays.
There is evidence that phonological memory improves with language development.
Research into semantic skills focuses less on the qualitative aspects of linguistic competence than does research into phonological and morphosyntactic skills.
Many students in my class were inspired by these readings to carry on further investigations, finding more data and phonetic support for the phonological claims.
They have established certain principles of phonetic and phonological change, and of the social motivation for change.
The relevance of the findings for cross-linguistic interaction in bilingual phonetic/phonological development is discussed.
What other phonetic cause(s) may be involved in this fascinating phonological process is certainly not obvious at this point in time.
