The acquisition of English speech sounds by Fijian children from different first language backgrounds

The age at which children are able to correctly produce speech sounds in a language is an important element of assessment by speech-language pathologists (SLPs). However, assessment is complicated when multilingual children speak languages with non-identical sound repertoires, as sounds in one language may influence the production of sounds in another. Studies of multilingual speech sound acquisition aim to document cross-linguistic influences to assist in valid diagnosis of speech sound disorders. This study analysed English consonant acquisition patterns of 72 multilingual Fijian primary school students. Results revealed that the pattern of English consonant acquisition for these children was similar to that reported for English-speaking children in other parts of the world. Minor differences for later developing sounds were noted (e.g., ‘th’ was produced as ‘t’ or ‘f’). This study expands understanding of theoretical perspectives on linguistic multi-competence and multilingual speech sound acquisition and supports SLPs working with multilingual Fijian children.