November 1, 2012

Book review: Multilingual Aspects of Speech Sound Disorders in Children

The following book review was recently published:

Brice, A. E. (2012). Multilingual Aspects of Speech Sound Disorders in Children edited by Sharynne McLeod and Brian Goldstein. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(6), 750. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-6984.2012.00176.x
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2012.00176.x/abstract
Brice stated:
"The specific information, regarding phonetic and phonemic differences of the languages discussed, is almost encyclopaedic in nature. The main strengths of this book are: (1) the research presented is current and detailed; (2) 112 languages are discussed, some in more detail than others; (3) numerous tables provide normative data regarding speech sound development; and (4) numerous chapters provide clinical information in the form of case studies or how the information can be applied clinically."
Brice also critiqued the discussion of the following concept within the 30 chapters: "The concepts of language proficiency and dominance in bilingual children need to be reconsidered since a bilingual child is unique and not composed of two monolinguals (Grosjean 1989)."