The impact of extrinsic demographic factors on Cantonese speech sound acquisition

The following manuscript has been accepted for publication:

To, C. K. -S., Cheung, P. S. -P., & McLeod, S. (2013, in press January). The impact of extrinsic demographic factors on Cantonese speech sound acquisition. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics.

ABSTRACT
Aims: This study modeled the associations between extrinsic demographic factors and children’s speech acquisition in Hong Kong Cantonese.
Method & Procedure: The speech of 937 Cantonese-speaking children aged 2;4 to 6;7 in Hong Kong was assessed using a standardized speech test. Demographic information regarding household income, paternal education, maternal education, presence of siblings, and having a domestic helper as the main caregiver was collected via parent questionnaires.
Outcomes & Results: After controlling for age and sex, higher maternal education and higher household income were significantly associated with better speech skills; however, these variables explained a negligible amount of variance. Paternal education, number of siblings, and having a foreign domestic helper did not associate with a child’s speech acquisition.
Conclusions & Implications: Extrinsic factors only exerted minimal influence on children’s speech acquisition. A large amount of unexplained variance in speech ability still warrants further research.


PUBLISHED (May, 2013):
To, C. K. S., Cheung, P. S. P., & McLeod, S. (2013). The impact of extrinsic demographic factors on Cantonese speech acquisition. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 27(5), 323-338. doi:10.3109/02699206.2013.763385