Simplification of /s/ + Stop Consonant Clusters

This longitudinal study examined individual patterns and changes in /s/ + stop cluster simplifications of six normally developing children. Subjects produced selected words containing initial voiced and voiceless stops and /s/ + stop clusters at monthly intervals. Speech samples were transcribed phonetically, and voice onset times (VOT) of the stop consonants were measured. The results revealed that subjects reduced clusters most frequently to stop consonants with short-lag VOTs. However, two children also occasionally employed prevoicing, and one subject used long-lag VOTs in cluster-reduced stops. Because cluster-reduced stops and voiced singleton stops were generally produced with similar VOTs, it was concluded that subjects represented clustered stops most frequently as phonemically voiced.