Acquisition of #sC clusters in Spanish-English bilingual children

We evaluate productions of word-initial /s/ clusters (#sC clusters) in English by 40 Spanish-English bilingual children (aged 2;11 – 4;5). These clusters have been studied considerably in research on the phonology of English and related languages because of their unusual patterning. Specifically, #sC clusters violate several phonotactic and/or universal constraints on syllable structure. Monolingual English-speaking children also show production patterns for these clusters that are quite different from those of other clusters. Yet to be fully explored, however, is how these clusters pattern in the speech of English-speaking children who also speak another language that prohibits #sC clusters, such as Spanish. We evaluate Spanish-English bilingual children's productions of #sC clusters to compare their production patterns with the findings of previous research. Results generally indicate that these children's production patterns are consistent with cross-linguistic predictions related to sonority and sonority sequencing. Additionally, some children's productions appeared to be influenced by Spanish phonotactics.